Rugby League World Golden Boot Award

The Rugby League World Golden Boot Award is a rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

award handed out annually for achievements in rugby league by Rugby League World

Rugby League World

Rugby League World is a dedicated rugby league magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. Other rugby league titles published by League Publications Ltd include the weekly newspaper Rugby Leaguer & League Express and the annual Gillette Rugby League Yearbook.-History:Rugby League World began...

magazine. The Golden Boot is given, usually in December after the conclusion of all the year's matches, to the player adjudged to be the best in the world, as determined by a ballot of former players and international rugby league journalists.

The oldest winner of the award is Mal Meninga

Mal Meninga

Malcolm Norman Meninga AM is an Australian former rugby league test captain and current coach of Queensland's State of Origin team. As a player he was a legendary goal-kicking centre, counted amongst the finest footballers of the 20th century...

, who won in 1989 at the age of 30. Of the sixteen winners only three have been forwards, Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League...

at hooker in 2007, Andrew Farrell

Andrew Farrell

Andrew D. 'Andy' Farrell OBE is an English former professional dual-code rugby footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A goal-kicking forward in rugby league, he captained the Great Britain team and his club, Wigan, with whom he won several championships and Challenge Cup titles as well as a range of...

at loose forward or second row in 2004 and Hugh McGahan

Hugh McGahan

Hugh Joseph McGahan MBE is a former rugby league footballer and coach who represented New Zealand...

at second row in 1987.

History

The award was founded in early 1985 by the British magazine Open Rugby and was awarded to Wally Lewis

Wally Lewis

Walter James "Wally" Lewis AM is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. Currently a commentator of the sport, he is widely regarded as the greatest rugby league player of all time...

for his performances throughout 1984. Lewis and the other pre-1990 winners were initially recognised for the years that they collected the award, not for the year of their performances, but this was changed by Rugby League World

Rugby League World

magazine in 2010.

No award was made between 1990 and 1998 due to organisational difficulties, the award was resurrected in its original format in 1999 when Open Rugby changed ownership to become Rugby League World

Rugby League World

Magazine, which retained ownership of the Golden Boot.

Andrew Johns collected the award in 1999 and again in 2001, becoming the first player to win it twice. Darren Lockyer

Darren Lockyer

Darren Lockyer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He was the captain of the Australian national team, the Queensland State of Origin team and his National Rugby League club, the Brisbane Broncos. His professional career spanned between 1995 and 2011...

has since repeated that feat, winning in 2003 and 2006 becoming the only player to win twice while playing in different positions.

It was presented during the RLIF Awards

RLIF Awards

The Rugby League International Federation currently oversees and awards the major international sporting award for rugby league on an annual basis and has done so since its inception in 2004....

in 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2007, the RLIF did not organise any awards. To fill the gap, Rugby League World magazine asked its Golden Boot panel to come up with winners in the existing categories used by the RLIF.

In 2011, Rugby League World magazine began to award retrospective Golden Boots to fill in "the missing years" starting with Garry Schofield

Garry Schofield

Garry E. Schofield OBE is an English retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 1990s. At the time of his retirement he was the most-capped Great Britain player of all time along with Mick Sullivan, with 46 appearances. He also won three England caps, making him the highest...

who was adjudged to have won the 1990 Golden Boot. Schofield was due to receive the award at the time, until the sponsors, Adidas, withdrew their backing.

Winners

Year	Player	Nationality	Position	Club
1984	Wally Lewis Wally Lewis Walter James "Wally" Lewis AM is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. Currently a commentator of the sport, he is widely regarded as the greatest rugby league player of all time...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Five-Eighth	Wynnum Manly Seagulls
1985	Brett Kenny Brett Kenny Brett Kenny is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. He was a five-eighth for the Australian national team, the New South Wales Blues representative side and the Parramatta Eels. He played in 17 Tests, made 17 State of Origin appearances and won 4...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Five-Eighth	Parramatta Eels Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
1986	Garry Jack Garry Jack Garry Jack is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a representative in the Australian national team and star player with the Balmain Tigers. Jack was a for the Tigers during the late 1980s and early 1990s, under the captaincy of Wayne Pearce and the coaching of Warren Ryan...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Fullback	Balmain Tigers Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
1987¹	Hugh McGahan Hugh McGahan Hugh Joseph McGahan MBE is a former rugby league footballer and coach who represented New Zealand... Peter Sterling Peter Sterling Peter Maxwell John "Sterlo" Sterling OAM is an Australian rugby league commentator and former player. He was one of the all-time great halfbacks and a major contributor to Parramatta Eels' dominance of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership in the 1980s. Sterling played nineteen Tests for...	New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Second Row Halfback	Eastern Suburbs Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League... Parramatta Eels Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
1988	Ellery Hanley Ellery Hanley Ellery Cuthwyn Hanley MBE is a British former rugby league footballer of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and former head coach of Great Britain, St. Helens and Doncaster. As a player he played most of his games at /, or /. Over a period of nineteen years, he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain,...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Five-Eighth	Wigan Wigan Warriors Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
1989	Mal Meninga Mal Meninga Malcolm Norman Meninga AM is an Australian former rugby league test captain and current coach of Queensland's State of Origin team. As a player he was a legendary goal-kicking centre, counted amongst the finest footballers of the 20th century...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Centre	Canberra Raiders Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
1990²	Garry Schofield Garry Schofield Garry E. Schofield OBE is an English retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 1990s. At the time of his retirement he was the most-capped Great Britain player of all time along with Mick Sullivan, with 46 appearances. He also won three England caps, making him the highest...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Five-Eighth	Leeds Leeds Rhinos Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
1991 - 1998	No award given
1999	Andrew Johns Andrew Johns Andrew Gary "Joey" Johns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s who is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. He was heralded as the world's best halfback for a number of years...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Halfback	Newcastle Knights Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
2000	Brad Fittler Brad Fittler Bradley Scott "Freddie" Fittler AM is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. The current coach of NSW City team in the City vs. Country clash, he coached in the NRL for the Sydney Roosters between 2007 and 2009. As a player, Fittler captained both New South Wales...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Five-Eighth	Sydney Roosters Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
2001	Andrew Johns Andrew Johns Andrew Gary "Joey" Johns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s who is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. He was heralded as the world's best halfback for a number of years...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Halfback	Newcastle Knights Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
2002	Stacey Jones Stacey Jones Stacey William Jones, ONZM is a professional rugby league footballer, who has been named amongst the greatest New Zealand has ever produced. He currently plays for the Point Chevalier Pirates in the Auckland Rugby League's Phelan Shield...	New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...	Halfback	New Zealand Warriors New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
2003	Darren Lockyer Darren Lockyer Darren Lockyer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He was the captain of the Australian national team, the Queensland State of Origin team and his National Rugby League club, the Brisbane Broncos. His professional career spanned between 1995 and 2011...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Fullback	Brisbane Broncos Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
2004 2004 in rugby league The year 2004 in rugby league football centred around Australasia's 2004 NRL season and Europe's Super League IX.-January:*26th - Sydney, Australia: The Rugby League International Federation announces that the next World Cup will be held in Australia in 2008 to celebrate the centenary of the game...	Andrew Farrell Andrew Farrell Andrew D. 'Andy' Farrell OBE is an English former professional dual-code rugby footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A goal-kicking forward in rugby league, he captained the Great Britain team and his club, Wigan, with whom he won several championships and Challenge Cup titles as well as a range of...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Lock	Wigan Warriors Wigan Warriors Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
2005 2005 in rugby league The year 2005 in rugby league football centred around Australasia's 2005 NRL season and Europe's Super League X.-January:17-19 - Leeds, England: The England national rugby union team spends three days training with newly-crowned Super League champions Leeds Rhinos.-February:4th - Leeds, England:...	Anthony Minichiello Anthony Minichiello Anthony Minichiello is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who, to date, has played his entire career for the Sydney Roosters of the National Rugby League. He plays at fullback and on the Wing. Minichiello has represented New South Wales and Australia...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Fullback	Sydney Roosters Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
2006	Darren Lockyer Darren Lockyer Darren Lockyer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He was the captain of the Australian national team, the Queensland State of Origin team and his National Rugby League club, the Brisbane Broncos. His professional career spanned between 1995 and 2011...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Five-Eighth	Brisbane Broncos Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
2007	Cameron Smith Cameron Smith Cameron Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Hooker	Melbourne Storm Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
2008	Billy Slater Billy Slater Billy Slater is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League . An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he has played his whole NRL career to date at Melbourne...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Fullback	Melbourne Storm Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
2009 2009 in rugby league This article contains information on rugby league events played in 2009. The season commenced with a friendly match between English Super League clubs Leeds and Salford in the United States in January, and concluded with the Scottish tour of South Africa in December....	Greg Inglis Greg Inglis Greg Inglis is an Australian professional rugby league player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative outside back, Inglis joined the Rabbitohs in 2011 after much controversy.Inglis is a versatile back, having played in several...	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	Centre	Melbourne Storm Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
2010 2010 in rugby league Top-level rugby league in 2010 centred around Australasia's 2010 NRL season and Europe's Super League XV. High profile representative competitions included the 2010 Four Nations , the 2010 State of Origin series and the 2010 European Cup.-January:*29 - Wrexham, Wales: Super League XV kicks off with...	Benji Marshall Benji Marshall Benji Marshall is a professional rugby league footballer with the Wests Tigers of the National Rugby League . A goal-kicking five-eighth, he is the current captain of the New Zealand national team, with whom he won the 2008 World Cup and 2010 Four Nations tournaments...	New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...	Five-Eighth	Wests Tigers Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...

¹ The 1987 Golden Boot was shared by two winners
² Retrospective award made in 2011

By nationality

Australia - 14 wins New Zealand

New Zealand national rugby league team

The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...

- 3 wins England

England national rugby league team

The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...

- 3 wins

By position

Five-Eighth or Stand-Off - 6 wins
Halfback or Scrum-Half - 5 wins
Fullback - 4 wins
Centre - 2 wins
Hooker - 1 win
Lock or Loose Forward - 1 win
Second Row - 1 win
Prop or Front Row - 0 wins
Wing - 0 wins

By club

Melbourne Storm

The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....

- 3 wins Sydney Roosters

Sydney Roosters

The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...

or Eastern Suburbs

Sydney Roosters

- 3 wins Brisbane Broncos

Brisbane Broncos

The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...

- 2 wins Newcastle Knights

Newcastle Knights

The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...

- 2 wins Parramatta Eels

Parramatta Eels

The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...

- 2 wins Wigan Warriors

Wigan Warriors

Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....

- 2 wins Canberra Raiders

Canberra Raiders

The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...

- 1 win Balmain Tigers

Balmain Tigers

The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...

- 1 win Wests Tigers

Wests Tigers

The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...

- 1 win Wynnum Manly Seagulls - 1 win New Zealand Warriors

New Zealand Warriors

The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...

or Auckland Warriors

New Zealand Warriors

- 1 win Leeds Rhinos

Leeds Rhinos

Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...

- 1 win

Multiple winners

The following players have won the Golden Boot on more than one occasion: Andrew Johns

Andrew Johns

Andrew Gary "Joey" Johns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s who is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. He was heralded as the world's best halfback for a number of years...

(1999 & 2001) Darren Lockyer

Darren Lockyer

(2003 & 2006)

External links

Rugby League World Magazine

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