How is the rugby league Golden Boot award decided?

Liam O'Loughlin

How is the rugby league Golden Boot award decided? image

Joey Manu has become the sixth Kiwi player to win the IRL Golden Boot - but how is the award decided?

Originally, it was handed to the best player in the world for that calendar year, taking in performances in both club and representative level.

Some of the sport's best players have won the award in previous years, with Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith, Andrew Johns and Darren Lockyer the only two-time winners.

But in 2018, the award changed and was instead award to the best-performing player solely in international fixtures. 

Tommy Makinson (England) and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (New Zealand) took out the prize for the first two years of the new rules, before COVID struck and the award went on hiatus for two years. 

Manu's performances for the Kiwis in both the mid-year Test against Tonga and during the Rugby League World Cup saw him hold off the likes of Jarome Luai and Josh Addo-Carr for the Golden Boot. 

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How is the rugby league Golden Boot decided? 

The IRL Golden Boot is decided by a panel of judges - usually ex-players - vote on a short-list of players, which is decided by journalists and commentators. 

This year, rugby league greats including Cameron Smith, James Graham and Ruben Wiki were part of the voting panel for the Golden Boot.

The award recognises the best player across the year in international rugby league, which includes Test matches and tournaments. 

Rugby League Golden Boot past winners

Since its inception in 1984, there have been some outstanding players take out the Golden Boot award.

Wally Lewis was the inaugural winner, while no winner was record between 1991 and 1998, as well as 2020 and 2021. 

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Here's the full list of past Golden Boot recipients. 

1984Wally Lewis (Australia)
1985Brett Kenny (Australia)
1986Garry Jack (Australia)
1987

Hugh McGahan (New Zealand)

Peter Sterling (Australia)

1988Ellery Hanley (England)
1989Mal Meninga (Australia)
1990Gary Schofield (England)
1999Andrew Johns (Australia)
2000Brad Fittler (Australia)
2001Andrew Johns (Australia)
2002Stacey Jones (New Zealand)
2003Darren Lockyer (Australia)
2004Andrew Farrell (England)
2005Anthony Minichiello (Australia)
2006Darren Lockyer (Australia)
2007Cameron Smith (Australia)
2008Billy Slater (Australia)
2009Greg Inglis (Australia)
2010Benji Marshall (New Zealand)
2011Johnathan Thurston (Australia)
2012Kevin Sinfield (England)
2013Johnathan Thurston (Australia)
2014Shaun Johnson (New Zealand)
2015Johnathan Thurston (Australia)
2016Cooper Cronk (Australia)
2017Cameron Smith (Australia)
2018Tommy Makinson (England)
2019Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (New Zealand)
2022Joey Manu (New Zealand)

 

Liam O'Loughlin

Liam has been with The Sporting News since 2019, helping lead both NRL and cricket content, as well as delving into the world of combat sports and NFL. A true rugby league tragic, he has spent the past 20 years playing, coaching and volunteering for his beloved junior club, Penshurst RSL. 

Away from work, Liam has a lifelong passion for all things pro wrestling and has travelled abroad to attend showcase events for WWE, AEW and NJPW.