St Helens star James Roby says he never expected to be named Super League's Man of Steel.
Great Britain hooker in shock after landing prestigious honour
Super League's Man of Steel James Roby says he is stunned to have seen off stiff competition from a host of top names to land the sport's leading individual honour.
The 21-year-old St Helens and Great Britain hooker claimed the award ahead of team-mate Paul Wellens and Wigan's Australian stand-off Trent Barrett at a glittering 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."
Talented
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."
Barrett, who was last week named the Rugby League Writers' Association player of the year, received further recognition when he was voted the GMB players' player of the year in a poll of all Super League squads.
Anderson was named Super League coach of the year for the second successive season, ahead of Steve McNamara (Bradford) and Jon Sharp (Huddersfield), while Bradford prop Sam Burgess was named young player of the year.
Meanwhile, Roby will return to Old Trafford on Saturday hoping to help his team complete a second consecutive whitewash.
"Last season was a dream come true and, if we manage to do it again, it would be unbelievable," he said.
"But we're up against Leeds who have beaten us twice this year and obviously know how to turn us over so we've got to do our best to compete against them."
