Who’s the cream of the 2021 crop?
Now the curtain has fallen on the 2021 season we’ve been looking for the outstanding stars of the Super League. As part of the voting process, we asked players, coaches, pundits and journalists to pick out the 10 players who impressed them most during the year.
The top pick received 10 points and the 10th selection was given one, with the results collated and combined to give us our definitive list.
The people involved in the voting process were as follows:
Players: Michael Shenton, Michael Lawrence, Josh Griffin, Shaun Kenny-dowall, Ryan Brierley, Kevin Brown, Jacob Miller
Journalists: Dave Woods, Jenna Brooks, Gareth Walker, Aaron Bower, James O’brien, Matthew Shaw, Will Jackson, Ross Heppenstall
Former players: Danny Mcguire, Barrie Mcdermott
Head coaches: Kurt Haggerty, Richard Marshall, Ian Watson
Without further ado, here are our top players of the season.
10: Lachlan Coote
Traditionally it can take overseas
players a little while to settle in Super League but Coote must be wondering what all the fuss is
about.
The full-back joined St Helens from North
Queensland Cowboys in late 2018 and claimed a hattrick of titles in his three years with the club. Coote kicked the winning conversion in the latest Grand Final triumph over Catalans, showing the kind of composure that was the hallmark of his time with
Saints. The Australian was directly involved in 23 tries for the champions, who will miss him off the field as well as on it as he prepares to link up with Hull KR.
9: Jackson Hastings
Wigan may have finished in the top four but it was largely a season to forget for Adrian Lam’s side.
The Warriors scored the fewest points in the competition on average, with even Leigh finding a way over the line with greater regularity. It was a disappointing way for Hastings to finish his time in Super League but he could leave with his head held high.
He tried his best to make things happen, with the half-back laying on 18 tries and scoring four himself.
Hastings ranked sixth for carries, showing that he never hid when the going got tough.
8: Kane Linnett
One of three ever-presents for
Hull KR, the experienced Australian produced colossal efforts week after week to deservedly secure a place in the Super League Dream Team, the club’s first representative since 2010.
Linnett scored 13 tries - more than any other forward in the competition.
It was no surprise to see the backrower claim a clean sweep at the club’s awards event, including the Roger Millward Player of the Year.
His consistency is remarkable and will see him go down as one of KR’S best players of the summer era.
7: Jordan Abdull
Hull KR’S best displays had Abdull’s fingerprints all over them as the influential playmaker pushed himself into Man of Steel contention.
The half-back missed out on the main Super League prize but impressed Shaun Wane enough to receive his first England call-up for the international against France.
Abdull is a player capable of hurting the opposition with a killer pass, a spiralling bomb, a deft kick or a huge hand-off.
At 25, Abdull is only going to get better.
6: Kruise Leeming
The 26-year-old grew in stature during a difficult season for Leeds, arguably becoming the club’s most influential player.
Leeming starred at hooker and did not look out of place when he started in the halves, with his form earning him a spot in the Super League Dream Team.
He scored 10 tries and laid on 14 more, getting his hands on the ball more than any other player in blue and amber. In line to make his England debut against France this week, which would crown a memorable season.
5: James Maloney
There was no fairytale finish for the Australian at Old Trafford but he wrote his name into folklore during his time with Catalans Dragons.
Maloney may have only spent two seasons with the Dragons but he was part of the first Dragons team to win the League Leaders’ Shield and reach a maiden Grand Final.
The 35-year-old produced some magic moments from the very first round when he slotted over a golden-point drop goal against KR.
His one-pointer secured top spot against St Helens at Magic Weekend and he was in the thick of it in the Grand Final, displaying the kind of competitive spirit that took him to the very top of the game.
4: Morgan Knowles
Once again in 2021, St Helens ran harder and tackled harder than any other side.
Knowles is at the very heart of that, leading the defensive line speed with machine-like intensity on his way to a third straight Dream Team appearance.
He gets through his fair share of tackles but it is the sheer ferocity of his hits that marks him out as one of the most feared defenders.
Knowles is the kind of selfless player every team needs.
3: Jonny Lomax
Lomax is the man who makes the St Helens machine tick.
A return of two tries and 14 assists is modest on the face of it but Lomax is the orchestrator in chief, a player who demands the ball and invariably makes things happen.
Lomax was named in the Dream Team for the third time in four years and pushed Sam Tomkins close for the Man of Steel award to cement his status as England’s best halfback.
2: Alex Walmsley
For the second year running, the giant St Helens front-rower made more metres than any other prop.
Like all good players he peaked at the right time, producing a series of colossal performances at the business end of the season.
Walmsley made in excess of 100m in 18 of his 21 outings, registering 275 against Leeds in early September.
The 31-year-old is relentlessly consistent with an appetite for work that sets him apart from his rivals.
1: Sam Tomkins
There could only be one winner. Nine years on from winning the Man of Steel with Wigan, Tomkins got his hands on the coveted award again in 2021.
He is a different player to the one that claimed the main individual prize in 2012 but he still possesses the trademark footwork that dazzled defences when he burst onto the scene.
Tomkins was directly involved in 30 of Catalans’ 112 tries - with 20 assists and 10 himself - and had a hand in many more popping up on both edges.
He did not get the crowning glory after playing through the pain at Old Trafford but Tomkins left an indelible mark on the 2021 season.