Waldrom has been in excellent form for Tigers at both flanker and No8 since moving to Welford Road from the Crusaders in the summer.
He has made 19 league appearances, picking up the Aviva Premiership Player of the Month Award for December along the way, and established himself as a firm favourite with fans.
The 27-year-old faces competition from Saracens hooker Schalk Brits and the Northampton Saints trio of Tom Wood, Brian Mujati and Chris Ashton, who was last season’s winner.
Tigers centre Manu Tuilagi is nominated in two categories at the end of season awards, the winners which will be announced at an awards dinner at Old Billingsgate in London on Tuesday, May 10.
Academy product Tuilagi, who has scored seven tries in 17 Aviva Premiership appearances, is nominated in the Land Rover Discovery of the Season category. He is up against Owen Farrell of Saracens, Gloucester’s Charlie Sharples, Quins centre George Lowe and Sale back rower James Gaskell, who is nominated for a second successive season.
Tuilagi is also nominated in the MBNA Try of the Season category for his sensational score in the home game against Saracens in Round 17, which you can see by clicking here
The shortlist includes Ashton’s try for Northampton against London Irish and Brits’ try for Saracens against Gloucester, both of which came in Round 21. Also nominated are the Lesley Vainikolo try for Gloucester against Tigers at Kingsholm in Round 7 and Andy Hazell’s score for Gloucester against Tigers at Welford Road in Round 20.
Alesana Tuilagi is in the running for the Guinness Top Try Scorer award. Alesana's try against Newcastle Falcons on Good Friday took him to 11 tries for the league season, two ahead of Northampton's Ashton.
Richard Cockerill has been nominated for QBE Director of Rugby of the Season for a third successive season. Cockerill, who won the award in 2009, is joined in the shortlist by Exeter Chiefs’ Rob Baxter, Jim Mallinder of Northampton, Mark McCall of Saracens and Gloucester’s Bryan Redpath.
The nominations in full are:
Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Season
Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
Schalk Brits (Saracens)
Brian Mujati (Northampton Saints)
Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
Land Rover Discovery of the Season
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
James Gaskell (Sale Sharks)
George Lowe (Harlequins)
Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby)
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
QBE Director of Rugby of the Season
Rob Baxter (Exeter Chiefs)
Bryan Redpath (Gloucester Rugby)
Richard Cockerill (Leicester Tigers)
Jim Mallinder (Northampton Saints)
Mark McCall (Saracens)
MBNA Try of the Season
Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
Aviva Premiership Rugby round 21, London Irish v NORTHAMPTON SAINTS, Saturday 23rd April 2011
Schalk Brits (Saracens)
Aviva Premiership Rugby round 21, SARACENS v Gloucester Rugby, Sunday 24th April 2011
Andrew Hazell (Gloucester Rugby)
Aviva Premiership Rugby round 20, Leicester Tigers v GLOUCESTER RUGBY, Saturday 16th April 2011
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Aviva Premiership Rugby round 17, Leicester Tigers v SARACENS, Saturday 5th March 2011
Lesley Vainikolo (Gloucester Rugby)
Aviva Premiership Rugby round 7, GLOUCESTER RUGBY v Leicester Tigers, Saturday 30th October 2010
Gatorade Performance of the Season
Hendre Fourie (Leeds Carnegie)
Aviva Premiership Rugby round 12, LEEDS CARNEGIE v Gloucester Rugby, Saturday 1st January 2011
Luke Watson (Bath Rugby)
Aviva Premiership Rugby round 6, Leicester Tigers v BATH RUGBY, Saturday 23rd October 2010
Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs)
Aviva Premiership Rugby round 9, EXETER CHIEFS v Sale Sharks, Sat 27th November 2010
Also presented on the evening will be:
Aviva Community Player of the Season
Gilbert Golden Boot
Guinness Top Try Scorer
ESPN Dream Team
J.P. Morgan Asset Management 7s Series Player of the Season
