The IRL Golden Boot Award (previously ''Open Rugby'' Golden Boot Award and ''Rugby League World Golden Boot'' Award) is an annual

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

award, presented by the

International Rugby League The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. The IRL organises the Rugby League World Cup, the oldest international rugby World Cup, as well as the Women's Rugby League World Cup, Wom ...

(IRL), awarded to the best player of the calendar year. There are categories for men's, women's, and

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

players. The IRL purchased the rights to the award from ''League Publications Ltd.'' in 2017, who in turn purchased it from its original awarders '' Open Rugby'' in 1998 who started the award in 1984. Upon purchase IRL introduced a women's category starting in 2018, with the wheelchair category coming a year later.

History

The award was founded in early 1985 by the British magazine ''Open Rugby.'' It was first awarded to

Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...

for his performances throughout 1984. No award was made between 1990 and 1998 due to organisational difficulties. ''League Publications Ltd'' bought the rights to the award in 1999 and began awarding the Golden Boot on the same year it was assessed. Andrew Johns collected the award in 1999 and again in 2001, becoming the first player to win it twice.

Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profe ...

repeated that feat, winning in 2003 and 2006 becoming the first player to win twice while playing in different positions. In 2011, ''Rugby League World'' magazine began to award retrospective Golden Boots to fill in "the missing years" of 1990 to 1998, starting with

Garry Schofield Garry Edward Schofield OBE (born 1 July 1965) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and is a member of the British Rugby League Hall of Fame. At the time of his retirement he was the most- ...

who was adjudged to have won the 1990 Golden Boot. No further Golden Boots were retrospectively awarded as sponsors

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

withdrew their backing. The

purchased the rights to award the Golden Boot in 2017.

Winners - Men

By nationality

By position

By club

NOTE: Clubs shared the award in 1984, 1985 and 1988

Multiple winners

Winners - Women

By nationality

By position

By club

Winners - Wheelchair

By nationality

By club

References

External links

Rugby League World Magazine
{{International Rugby League Rugby league trophies and awards

History

Winners - Men

By nationality

By position

By club

Multiple winners

Winners - Women

By nationality

By position

By club

Winners - Wheelchair

By nationality

By club

See also

References

External links