Castleford’s Luke Gale voted Man of Steel for 2017
Written by News on 04/10/2017
Luke Gale has been named Man of Steel for 2017, on a night that his club Castleford collected three of the four main awards at the annual dinner in Manchester.
Gale, who will be part of a Tigers’ team running out at Old Trafford in this Saturday’s Grand Final against Leeds, live on Sky Sports, collected the award which is named after the late Steve Prescott.
The half-back topped the poll, voted on by Super League players, with the 29-year-old beating team-mate Zak Hardaker into second spot, while Hull stand-off Albert Kelly was third.
Gale, who was also voted player of the year by the Rugby League Writers and Broadcasters’ Association, broke the Castleford record for total points scored in a season.
He goes into this weekend’s Grand Final with 332 points already in the bank and, after collecting his prize in Manchester, said: "I was honoured just to make the shortlist.
"It’s great being noticed, but my job is to control this team and, when the team is working this well, it makes it a lot easier. This team I’ve got around me is pretty remarkable."
Elsewhere, Castleford were named club of the year, with Daryl Powell picking up the award for coach of the year.
One trophy which escaped the clutches of the west Yorkshire club was Young Player of the Year, which went the way of Wigan’s Oliver Gildart.
Players are not allowed to vote for any of their club-mates and last year’s Man of Steel winner Danny Houghton voted for this season’s recipient Gale.
Castleford’s excellent season saw them lift the League Leaders’ Shield for the first time in their 91-year history.
Outstanding achievement awards were presented to the following: Thomas Bosc (Catalans Dragons), Chris Bridge (Widnes), Rob Burrow (Leeds), Eorl Crabtree (Huddersfield), Gareth Ellis (Hull), Andy Lynch (Castleford), Iafeta Palea’aesina (Hull) and Leon Pryce (Bradford) to mark their retirements from Super League.
You can watch Saturday’s Grand Final between Castleford and Leeds live on Sky Sports.
(c) Sky News 2017: Castleford’s Luke Gale voted Man of Steel for 2017
