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Lockyer fails to make shortlist of top five-eighths

Brad Walter | November 18, 2008

DARREN LOCKYER has been overlooked for this season's major international gongs, with the Australian captain not even a contender for five-eighth of the year at last night's Rugby League International Federation awards and failing to attract a nomination for the Golden Boot trophy for the world's best player.

Storm fullback Billy Slater capped a stunning season by winning the inaugural RLIF award as 2008 International Player of the Year announced last night in Brisbane.

The former trackwork jockey out-polled Melbourne and Kangaroos teammates Cam Smith and Greg Inglis as well as Manly halfback Matt Orford and England stars Jamie Peacock, James Graham, Leon Pryce and Rob Burrow to win the award.

Despite England's disastrous World Cup campaign, Graham and Wests Tigers-bound second-rower Gareth Ellis won positional awards.

The biggest surprise was the omission of Lockyer as a candidate for any award with the five-eighth nominations being Pryce, Inglis, Danny McGuire, Terry Campese, Feleti Mateo, Braith Anasta, Trent Barrett and Adam Mogg.

Organisers explained that the awards were judged on performances from the Super League grand final on October 14, 2007, until the end of the 2008 NRL and Super League seasons, which both culminated with premiership deciders on October 5, and did not include the World Cup.

During that time, Lockyer battled a knee injury and missed Australia's 2007 end-of-season Test in Wellington and May's Centenary Test at the SCG as well as the entire Origin series.

He has also been snubbed for the Golden Boot award to be presented at the Rugby League Players Association awards in Sydney on November 29, with Slater, Smith, Inglis, Johnathan Thurston and prop Brent Kite, Peacock and Kiwis stars Benji Marshall and Manu Vatuvei the nominees.

The RLIF awards were decided by an international panel, made up of past players, and Australian and British media, including the Herald's Roy Masters and Brad Walter.