Kiria-Ratu shortlisted for IRL Golden Boot award

Shortlists revealed for 2025 IRL Golden Boot

Author: International Rugby League Media Release
Timestamp: Thu 20 Nov 2025, 12:26 PM

Kiwis stars Dylan Brown and Joseph Tapine, inspirational Toa Samoa prop Payne Haas and influential Kangaroos duo Harry Grant and Cameron Munster are vying for the 2025 IRL Golden Boot after being shortlisted for the prestigious award.

The shortlists for the Women’s and Wheelchair Golden Boot awards have also been announced, with three members of the all-conquering Jillaroos in contention - Yasmin Clydsdale, Julia Robinson and Tamika Upton.

Cook Islands halfback Chantay Kiria-Ratu and Kiwi Ferns fullback Apii Nicholls are the other two candidates for the Women’s Golden Boot.

England Wheelchair star Rob Hawkins is a chance of becoming the first player in any discipline to win back-to-back Golden Boots after the 2024 winner was shortlisted, along with team-mate Nathan Collins, Australia’s Bayley McKenna and Zac Schumacher, and Ireland’s Joe Calcott.

Jack Brown is also a previous winner, having received the first Wheelchair Golden Boot award in 2019.

Harry Grant saves his best for last

Regardless of who the men’s winner is, there will be a new name on the Golden Boot trophy, which was first awarded in 1984 to legendary Australian five-eighth Wally Lewis.

With Australia and England playing an Ashes Series at the same time as the Pacific Championships, the judges face the unenviable task of identifying the international player of the year

Dylan Brown, who will join Newcastle next season on a 10-year contract, was a standout for New Zealand in their successful Pacific Cup campaign, winning the tournament for the second time in three years by beating Samoa in the final.

Tapine, the Canberra Raiders captain, was consistently one of New Zealand’s best forwards and has again made the Golden Boot shortlist after being narrowly edged out by team-mate James Fisher-Harris for the award in 2023 when the Kiwis inflicted a record 30-0 defeat of Australia in the final.

Haas, the 2025 Brisbane Broncos premiership winning prop, made a huge impact for Samoa after switching his international allegiance from Australia to the Toa and was a major reason they reached the Pacific Cup final.

Munster and Grant also had a huge influence on Australia’s 3-0 cleansweep of England in the first Ashes Series since 2003.

Grant was named man-of-the-match after captaining the Kangaroos to victory at Everton in the absence of injured skipper Isaah Yeo, who was the 2024 Golden Boot winner, and Munster, his Melbourne Storm team-mate, received the honour in Leeds.

Munster also won the Fulton-Reilly Trophy as player of the series, pipping Grant, with Reece Walsh and Angus Crichton also equal third in voting.

Julia Robinson Try

The women’s Golden Boot appears set to remain in Australian hands after Tarryn Aiken last year ended back-to-back wins by Kiwi Ferns co-captains Raecene McGregor and Georgia Hale in 2022 and 2023.

Clydsdale, Robinson and Upton starred in a year in which the Jillaroos proved themselves to be one of the best teams in world sport, beating England 90-4 in Las Vegas in February and retaining the Pacific Cup with a 40-8 defeat of New Zealand after surviving a scare to win 10-4 the week before.

The Jillaroos also beat Fetu Samoa 60-0 in the Pacific Championships.

However, Kiwi Ferns fullback Apii Nicholls was still one of the best players on the international stage in 2025, while Cook Islands halfback Chantay Kiria-Ratu steered the Moana to an historic victory in the Pacific Bowl against Papua New Guinea and Tonga.

Nicholls and Kiria-Ratu round out the shortlist for the women’s 2025 Golden Boot.

Wheelaroos v England - First Test, 2025

The Wheelchair Golden Boot is also a keenly contested affair, with three Englishman – Hawkins, Brown and Collins – shortlisted, along with Australia’s Schumacher and McKenna after their performances in the Ashes Series on the Gold Coast.

Calcott has also made the shortlist for his role in leading Ireland to victory in the Celtic Cup against Wales and Scotland, scoring nine tries and landed five goals for a personal haul of 46 points.

England, the defending World Cup champions, retained the Ashes after coming from behind the win both matches in the series, triumphing 56-28 and 48-42 after a last-minute Joe Coyd try.

McKenna was named player-of-the-match in the second Ashes clash after scoring 22 points through two tries and seven conversions without miss, while Schumacher was Australia’s best in the series opener. The Townsville product scored three tries and landed four goals in the two matches.

England’s Nathan Collins was player-of-the-match in the opening game, scoring two tries and having a hand in several others, while landing four conversions from six attempts.

Hawkins scored a hat-trick in the series opener and two tries in the second match to earn player-of-the series honours.

Brown also played a starring role for England in both matches, changing momentum in his impact role off the interchange bench.

About the judges

Golden Cap recipients Darren Lockyer (Australia), Cameron Smith (Australia), Ruben Wiki (New Zealand), James Graham (England) and Petero Civoniceva (Australia/Fiji), who are among just nine players to have played 50 or more internationals, will choose the men’s 2025 IRL Golden Boot winner.

Darren Lockyer played a record 59 Tests for Australia, captaining the Kangaroos on 38 occasions, and is a two-time winner of the Golden Boot in 2003 and 2006.
Cameron Smith captained Australia in 33 of his 56 Test appearances and led the Kangaroos to World Cup success in 2013 and 2017. He won the Golden Boot in 2007 and 2017.
Ruben Wiki, who has Maori and Samoan heritage, played a record 55 Tests for New Zealand and captained the Kiwis on 18 occasions, including their historic 2005 Tri-Nations triumph.
James Graham made a record 44 international appearances for England, including eight as captain, and played a further nine matches for Great Britain.
Petero Civoniceva played for Australia in 45 internationals before representing his Fijian heritage at the 2013 World Cup and again in 2014, making six appearances for the Bati.

The Women’s 2025 IRL Golden Boot winner will be judged by Australian Jillaroos great Karyn Murphy, New Zealand dual code superstar Honey Hireme-Smiler and Kiwi Ferns pioneer Luisa Avaiki, who also played for Samoa.

Karyn Murphy made 27 international appearances and led the Jillaroos to their first World Cup triumph in 2013. She is one of six female players inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame. Karyn is the former NRL Head of Integrity and currently coaches the Gold Coast Titans in the NRLW.
Honey Hireme-Smiler played in four World Cups for the Kiwi Ferns, including 2013 when she was captain and player of the tournament. Honey has been a member of the NZRL Board since 2022 and was recently re-appointed as deputy chair. She is presenter for Sky Sport NZ’s NRL and NRLW coverage.
Luisa Avaiki played in three World Cup winning teams for New Zealand, captaining the Ferns to victory in 2003 and 2008. She played for Samoa against Australia in 2011. Avaiki was the founding NRLW coach for the Warriors in 2018.

The Wheelchair 2025 IRL Golden Boot is chosen by a judging panel which comprises:

Malcolm Kielty MBE: A pioneer of Wheelchair Rugby League and one of the founders of the game.
Martin Meredith OAM: Former Wheelchair Rugby League Australia Chair, ex-Manly Sea Eagles player and Halifax Challenge Cup winner.
Niel Wood: IRL Wheelchair Rugby League Advisory Group (WRLAG) Chair
David Butler: IRL Wheelchair Rugby League Advisory Group Secretary; long serving official, player and referee.
Darren Gocher: NRL Wheelchair Chair, Family of League CEO.

The IRL Golden Boot is awarded to the best player in sanctioned rugby league international matches each year.