BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 02: Cameron Smith of Australia celebrates victory at the final whistle during the 2017 Rugby League World Cup Final between the Australian Kangaroos and England at Suncorp Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The panel to select this year’s IRL Golden Boot award, given to the international player of the year, has been named – and it features a number of high-profile inclusions that will be very familiar to NRL fans.
The game’s most-capped player, Cameron Smith, has been named on a panel alongside fellow 400-gamer James Graham, as well as Raiders, Warriors and Kiwis veteran Ruben Wiki.
The panel will also include former Roosters enforcer Adrian Morley, with all four members of the panel having 50 or more Test appearances to their names.
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 02: James Graham of England looks on during the 2017 Rugby League World Cup Final between the Australian Kangaroos and England at Suncorp Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The group has been assembled to award the honour at a ceremony to be held prior to next week’s World Cup final at Old Trafford. The IRL Women’s and Wheelchair Golden Boot awards will also be handed out at Manchester’s Midland Hotel on Tuesday, November 15.
Morley will present the men’s award, and he’ll be joined by RFL executive Karen Moorhouse and wheelchair rugby league icon Malcolm Kielty, MBE.
Though the Golden Boot is one of the longest running and most prestigious individual awards in rugby league, it hasn’t been awarded over the past two years due to the devastating challenges the global pandemic created for the international game.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 8: Adrian Morley of the Roosters in action during the round five NRL match between the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Sydney Roosters at Toyota Park April 8, 2006 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Smith himself has won the award three times, while the most recent winners were Kiwi fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Jess Sergis and English wheelchair star Jack Brown in 2019.
The shortlist of candidates that the esteemed panel will assess is decided by a number of journalists and commentators from Australia, England and New Zealand. That shortlist was completed following the final group stage games of this year’s World Cup.
Source:: ZeroTackle
