The Rob Burrow Award is presented annually to the man of the match in the Super League Grand Final . It is named after former Leeds Rhinos player Rob Burrow , the first person to be voted man of the match in two Super League Grand Finals.
5-743: The award replaced the Harry Sunderland Trophy in 2024. Prior to the introduction of the Rob Burrow Award, the man of the match in the Super League Grand Final was awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy . The trophy was introduced in 1965, over 30 years before the formation of the Super League in 1996. It was awarded to the man of the match in the Championship final between 1965 and 1973, and
10-480: The Premiership final between 1974 and 1997. Below is a list of players who have been named man of the match since the inaugural Super League Grand Final in 1998. † = denotes a player who won the trophy but played on the losing team in the final. Harry Sunderland Trophy The Harry Sunderland Trophy was awarded annually to the man of the match in the Super League Grand Final and its predecessors,
15-759: The RFL First Division Final and the Premiership Final , between 1965 and 2023. Named after Harry Sunderland , who was an Australian rugby league football administrator in both Australia and the United Kingdom , the Trophy was first awarded in the Rugby Football League Championship Final of the 1964–65 season following Sunderland's death. After the 1972–73 season the play-off system
20-540: The match. In 2011, Rob Burrow of Leeds Rhinos became the first player to achieve the unanimous votes of all 37 judges when winning the award. In February 2024 the Rugby Football League announced that the trophy will be replaced by the Rob Burrow Award . In announcing the new award, RFL vice-president Trevor Hunt said "I am certain that rugby league players and supporters will agree that
25-732: Was dropped as the League went to two divisions. The Trophy's use was continued in the Rugby League Premiership and Super League Premiership finals until Super League III , when a play-off system was re-introduced to determine the Champions through the Grand Final . The trophy's winner is determined by the Rugby League Writers' Association and presented on the field immediately following the conclusion of
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