New Vodafone Warriors fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is among the three nominees for rugby league's 2015 Golden Boot award.
Dally M medal winner and two-time Golden Boot recipient Jonathan Thurston is also on the shortlist along with Leeds Rhinos and England fullback Zak Hardaker.
The award, won by Shaun Johnson last year, is handed out annually by the Rugby League World magazine at the end of the year, with a panel of international journalists and former players deciding the shortlist before picking a winner.
Tuivasa-Sheck was superb for the Sydney Roosters as they won the NRL minor premiership and he was named the Dally M fullback of the year. The 22-year-old, now on tour with the Kiwis in England, also featured in New Zealand’s impressive Anzac Test win over the Kangaroos in Brisbane.
During the NRL campaign he smashed the record for most metres made in a season. The NRL’s stats provider NRL Pro credited him with 6517 metres from 27 appearances, an average of 241 metres a game.
Tuivasa-Sheck faces stiff competition for the Golden Boot from Thurston, who will certainly be favourite.
He had his finest year to date as he guided the Cowboys to their first grand final success when they beat the Brisbane Broncos 17-16 in a thrilling decider, Thurston winning the Clive Churchill Medal with a man-of-the-match performance.
The 32-year-old kicked the winning drop goal in golden point extra time and he won his fourth Dally M medal this year by a record margin of 11 points.
Thurston played in all three Origin tests for Queensland as they won the series 2-1 and he became the leading points-scorer in Origin history with 200 in his 33 matches since his debut in 2005.
The Cowboys halfback would become the first player to win the Golden Boot award for a third time after wins in 2011 and 2013.
PAST GOLDEN BOOT WINNERS
1984: Wally Lewis (Australia)
1985: Brett Kenny (Australia)
1986: Garry Jack (Australia)
1987: Hugh McGahan (NZ) & Peter Sterling (Australia)
1988: Ellery Hanley (England)
1989: Mal Meninga (Australia)
1990: Garry Schofield (England)
1999: Andrew Johns (Australia)
2000: Brad Fittler (Australia)
2001: Andrew Johns (Australia)
2002: Stacey Jones (NZ)
2003: Darren Lockyer (Australia)
2004: Andrew Farrell (England)
2005: Anthony Minichiello (Australia)
2006: Darren Lockyer (Australia)
2007: Cameron Smith (Australia)
2008: Billy Slater (Australia)
2009: Greg Inglis (Australia)
2010: Benji Marshall (NZ)
2011: Johnathan Thurston (Australia)
2012: Kevin Sinfield (England)
2013: Johnathan Thurston (Australia)
2014: Shaun Johnson (NZ)
