One man's trash is another man's treasure, and Brodie Croft has proven just that going from the outhouse to the rugby league penthouse, snaring Super League's top gong.
Croft made the move halfway across the globe earlier this season, escaping his troubled time in Brisbane to revitalise his career at the Salford Red Devils. While he won't contend the Grand Final in 2022, Croft will still finish his maiden Super League season with some personal silverware.
The 25 year-old has been announced as the Man of Steel recipient for this season, the Super League equivalent of the Dally M, beating out St. Helens star Jack Welsby and former NRL toiler Jai Field to claim the highly-coveted award.
The Storm debutant joins the likes of current or former NRL stars to pick up the gong, including Jackson Hastings, Ben Barba, James Graham and Pat Richards, a prestigious list, with Hastings the only current NRL player to win it.
Croft had 32 try-involvements in 26 games for Salford in 2022, proving to be one of the competition's classiest halves as he averaged over 100 running metres per match pairing nicely alongside 23 line breaks and 18 offloads for the season.
Playing just 26 of a possible 44 games for Brisbane in his two-year stint at Redhill, Croft had to get away from the NRL to refresh himself, being labelled 'the next Cooper Cronk' draining as the No. 7 won just six games in a Broncos jersey.
Croft admits he struggled in his time at Red Hill, and reveals that he was sure that a Super League move would be the right choice to get his career back on track.
"It was certainly difficult. Things not going so well there the last couple of years, particularly last year," Croft said during a Super League interview in the week.
"You lose part of that love that you first started playing for. That's the reason why you first start playing because you love the game, you love going to training, being with the boys, you love going to games, you get excited for all that.
"It was going to be the right move for my career, certainly, to kind of get a new lease, to go again, a fresh start.
"Coming over here I've always had the belief in myself that I know what I'm capable of. I know the player that I can be."
Former Super League veteran Paul Sculthorpe presented Croft with the award, crediting the Australian halfback for Salford's bounce back season.
“Being a two-time Man of Steel, I know first-hand what it means to a player to receive this recognition," he said during the ceremony.
“Brodie has shown all season what an exceptional talent he is. His creative flair, leadership and doggedness have been as huge asset to Paul Rowley’s rejuvenated Salford Red Devils team.
“It is no shock that the run Salford put together at the end of the season was mirrored by an exceptional series of performances from Brodie."
Croft is under contract for Salford in 2023, and while a reunion with former Bronco Tyson Gamble at the Newcastle Knights has been touted, an extra year in the competition can do Brodie no harm as he follows in Jackson Hastings footsteps, and establishes himself before rushing back to Australian shores.
