Roby stunned to land award

St Helens' rising star James Roby was still in shock as he came to terms with lifting the most coveted individual award in rugby league.

The 21-year-old Great Britain hooker overcame stiff competition from Wigan's Australian stand-off Trent Barrett and his St Helens team-mate Paul Wellens to be named Man of Steel at a glittering awards ceremony at Old Trafford.

"I didn't think I would have been up for the award," he said. "There are plenty of other players that I would have picked well ahead of me, the likes of Keiron (Cunningham) and Paul Wellens and players from other teams. I'm in a bit of a shock, to be honest."

A month away from his 22nd birthday, Roby is the youngest recipient of the highly-coveted award since former Great Britain captain Andy Farrell won it in 1996 aged 21 years and five months and is the sixth St Helens recipient in the last eight years.

"He's a very talented player," said St Helens coach Daniel Anderson.

I'm very fortunate that in my time at St Helens I've been able to make a contribution to a burgeoning career.

"The award is very deserved. Every player has a huge amount of respect for him both from within our club and from other clubs.

"We've got one special bloke who has worn the number nine for 10 seasons and the next one is on his way."