Five Kangaroos stars feature alongside Papua New Guinea and Leigh Leopards pair Lachlan Lam and Edwin Ipape on the 17-man long list for this year’s IRL Golden Boot award.
First dished out to Australia‘s Wally Lewis for his performances in 1984, the Golden Boot award is presented annually by the International Rugby League (IRL) organisation.
IRL have held the rights to the award since 2017, with the honour going to the best player on the international stage that calendar year.
Golden Cap recipients Darren Lockyer (Australia), Cameron Smith (Australia), Ruben Wiki (New Zealand), James Graham (England) and Petero Civoniceva (Australia/Fiji) will choose the 2025 IRL Golden Boot winner.
They are all among just nine players to have played 50 or more internationals.
Kangaroos quintet and Leigh Leopards duo among IRL Golden Boot nominees
This 17-man long list will be turned into a shortlist shortly after the Pacific Cup final between New Zealand and Samoa on Sunday, with players still able to earn a spot in that shortlist even if they aren’t in the initial 17.
But, for now, the 17 is most heavily dominated by the Kiwis: who have six of their stars included.
After last year’s Pacific Cup disappointment in which they had to come through a play-off against PNG to avoid relegation, New Zealand have this year impressed en-route to this weekend’s final.
Dylan Brown, Moses Leota and Joseph Tapine are among their six in the 17-man long list.
Elsewhere, Australia – whose skipper Isaah Yeo is the holder of the award – have five of their men included having already secured an Ashes Series win against England with a game to spare after wins at Wembley and the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
After man-of-the-match displays at Wembley and on Merseyside respectively, Reece Walsh and Cameron Munster are both among that quintet.
PNG stormed to a second successive Pacific Bowl title as they beat Fiji and the Cook Islands, and their reward is in the shape of nominations for both Lam and Ipape.
Having shone together at club level for Leigh in Super League, the pair picked up where they left off as they donned a shirt for the Kumuls.
After reaching the Pacific Cup final, Samoa boast four inclusions in the long list, including Payne Haas, Jarome Luai and Junior Paulo.
Haas, of course, opted to represented To’a Samoa this autumn rather than the Kangaroos.
The only other side represented, with England snubbed entirely, are Fiji. The Bati’s sole pick among the 17 comes in the shape of Jahream Bula, who scored four tries in their victory against the Cook Islands last month.
2025 IRL Golden Boot Long List
- Dylan Brown (New Zealand)
- Jahream Bula (Fiji)
- Reuben Cotter (Australia)
- Angus Crichton (Australia)
- Harry Grant (Australia)
- Edwin Ipape (Papua New Guinea)
- Payne Haas (Samoa)
- Lachlan Lam (Papua New Guinea)
- Moses Leota (New Zealand)
- Jarome Luai (Samoa)
- Casey McLean (New Zealand)
- Cameron Munster (Australia)
- Jeremiah Nanai (Samoa)
- Isaiah Papali’i (New Zealand)
- Junior Paulo (Samoa)
- Joseph Tapine (New Zealand)
- Matthew Timoko (New Zealand)
- Reece Walsh (Australia)
