# 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, 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 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 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 the name of Rob Burrow is a fitting one to recognise, ... We believe that now is the right time to make a change that brings the award recognition into the new era, and Rob Burrow is the right man."

## Recipients

| Season | Awarded in | Recipient | Team |
| 1964–65 | Championship Final | Terry Fogerty | Halifax |
| 1965–66 | Championship Final | Albert Halsall | St. Helens |
| 1966–67 | Championship Final | Ray Owen | Wakefield |
| 1967–68 | Championship Final | Gary Cooper | Wakefield |
| 1968–69 | Championship Final | Bev Risman | Leeds |
| 1969–70 | Championship Final | Frank Myler | St. Helens |
| 1970–71 | Championship Final | Bill Ashurst† | Wigan |
| 1971–72 | Championship Final | Terry Clawson | Leeds |
| 1972–73 | Championship Final | Mike Stephenson | Dewsbury |
| 1973–74 | Premiership Final | Barry Philbin | Warrington |
| 1974–75 | Premiership Final | Mel Mason | Leeds |
| 1975–76 | Premiership Final | George Nicholls | St. Helens |
| 1976–77 | Premiership Final | Geoff Pimblett | St. Helens |
| 1977–78 | Premiership Final | Bob Haigh | Bradford Northern |
| 1978–79 | Premiership Final | Kevin Dick | Leeds |
| 1979–80 | Premiership Final | Mal Aspey | Widnes |
| 1980–81 | Premiership Final | Len Casey | Hull KR |
| 1981–82 | Premiership Final | Mick Burke | Widnes |
| 1982–83 | Premiership Final | Tony Myler | Widnes |
| 1983–84 | Premiership Final | John Dorahy | Hull KR |
| 1984–85 | Premiership Final | Harry Pinner | St. Helens |
| 1985–86 | Premiership Final | Les Boyd | Warrington |
| 1986–87 | Premiership Final | Joe Lydon | Wigan |
| 1987–88 | Premiership Final | David Hulme | Widnes |
| 1988–89 | Premiership Final | Alan Tait | Widnes |
| 1989–90 | Premiership Final | Alan Tait | Widnes |
| 1990–91 | Premiership Final | Greg Mackey | Hull |
| 1991–92 | Premiership Final | Andy Platt | Wigan |
| 1992–93 | Premiership Final | Chris Joynt | St. Helens |
| 1993–94 | Premiership Final | Sam Panapa | Wigan |
| 1994–95 | Premiership Final | Kris Radlinski | Wigan |
| 1996 | Premiership Final | Andrew Farrell | Wigan |
| 1997 | Premiership Final | Andrew Farrell | Wigan |
| 1998 | Grand Final | Jason Robinson | Wigan |
| 1999 | Grand Final | Henry Paul† | Bradford |
| 2000 | Grand Final | Chris Joynt | St. Helens |
| 2001 | Grand Final | Michael Withers | Bradford |
| 2002 | Grand Final | Paul Deacon† | Bradford |
| 2003 | Grand Final | Stuart Reardon | Bradford |
| 2004 | Grand Final | Matt Diskin | Leeds |
| 2005 | Grand Final | Leon Pryce | Bradford |
| 2006 | Grand Final | Paul Wellens | St. Helens |
| 2007 | Grand Final | Rob Burrow | Leeds |
| 2008 | Grand Final | Lee Smith | Leeds |
| 2009 | Grand Final | Kevin Sinfield | Leeds |
| 2010 | Grand Final | Thomas Leuluai | Wigan |
| 2011 | Grand Final | Rob Burrow | Leeds |
| 2012 | Grand Final | Kevin Sinfield | Leeds |
| 2013 | Grand Final | Blake Green | Wigan |
| 2014 | Grand Final | James Roby | St. Helens |
| 2015 | Grand Final | Danny McGuire | Leeds |
| 2016 | Grand Final | Liam Farrell | Wigan |
| 2017 | Grand Final | Danny McGuire | Leeds |
| 2018 | Grand Final | Stefan Ratchford† | Warrington |
| 2019 | Grand Final | Luke Thompson | St. Helens |
| 2020 | Grand Final | James Roby | St. Helens |
| 2021 | Grand Final | Kevin Naiqama | St. Helens |
| 2022 | Grand Final | Jonny Lomax | St. Helens |
| 2023 | Grand Final | Jake Wardle | Wigan |
† = denotes a player who won the trophy but played on the losing team in the final.

## Winners by club

| Club | Awards (winners) |
| Bradford Bulls | 6 (6) |
| Dewsbury | 1 (1) |
| Halifax | 1 (1) |
| Hull F.C. | 1 (1) |
| Hull Kingston Rovers | 2 (2) |
| Leeds Rhinos | 12 (9) |
| St Helens | 13 (11) |
| Wakefield Trinity | 2 (2) |
| Warrington Wolves | 3 (3) |
| Widnes Vikings | 6 (5) |
| Wigan Warriors | 12 (11) |
Seven players have been awarded trophy twice.