New Zealand halfback Shaun Johnson has capped a memorable 12 months by winning the 2014 Rugby League World Golden Boot - seeing off the challenge of union convert Sam Burgess for the honour.
The New Zealand Warriors playmaker, who broke England's hearts with a last-minute try and conversion in the semi-finals of the 2013 World Cup, produced a man-of-the-match performance in the 2014 Four Nations final in Wellington last month as the Kiwis defeated Australia to lift the title - a performance that impressed the 13-man voting panel.
For the second successive year, English forward Burgess - who swapped South Sydney for Bath in October - came second in the voting but, whereas 12 months ago Burgess was within seven points of Johnathan Thurston, this time Johnson was a decisive winner, collecting almost twice as many points as his nearest rival.
Johnson becomes only the fourth New Zealander to win the prestigious award, following in the footsteps of Hugh McGahan, Stacey Jones and Benji Marshall.
Johnson said: "Being a rugby league fan growing up, I always knew about the Golden Boot award.