Buck the trend

The Australian packman has caught the eye so much since he was pushed forward from the second row to the front line that he has now won the Press-sponsored Player of the Month award for May, and in turn moved to the top of the Press/Collier Plant Hire Player of the Year standings.

Cook, short on props given the recent departures of Joe Helme and Tabua Cakacaka and injury to Ryan MacDonald, has already praised Buckley, Adam Sullivan and Toby Williams for their efforts in making up the shortfall prior to the propitious recruitment of Neil Lowe from Doncaster Lakers.

And after hearing Buckley was voted the Knights' top man in May by the Press' panel of judges, Cook agreed it was richly merited.

"I think he's done a great job," he said of the 25-year-old, who is in his second season at Huntington Stadium since arriving from down under.

"Both him and Adam Sullivan up front have done big stints at times and they've been productive with what they've been doing, taking the team forward very well.

"Bucko is tough, uncompromising and great to have in the team. He really wants to do well over here and he deserves the accolades he's getting at the moment after the hard work he's being doing in training and on the pitch."

One such tribute came from former Knights crowd favourite Craig Forsyth, who is now on the Press's Player of the Month panel. He should know a bit about forward play, too, having been a prop himself, and one who also spent an early part of his career as a second-rower.

Forsyth said: "Dave Buckley has made the transition from back-row to prop very well and he's even outplayed his opposite numbers who have been in the front row for several years."

It was actually Buckley himself who suggested he had a go up front.

Cook explained: "He knew we were struggling up there with numbers and he mentioned he would not mind giving it a go. He's played up there before so he knows the role and he knows how we want to play the game. He's done a great job for the team."

Scrum-half Matty Brooks was in line for his first Press man-of-the-match accolade since his loan switch from Hull KR after an enterprising display in which he scored a try and set up a couple more.

However, after a quick chat with some fans, the Press's vote went to newcomer Neil Lowe for his fine debut in the pack, which he capped off with a try too. Lowe thus collects three player-of-the-year points.

Brooks, who has been increasingly to the fore over the past month, must settle for two points, though he can have further consolation in the fact he was a trade paper's man of the match.

The remaining point went to Rob Spicer for another energetic display, his tackling being of inspiration at the times when the Knights were forced to defend with gusto.

Spicer briefly joined Lee Mapals at the head of the pile - until the three bonus points for being the Player of the Month were taken into account. Those went to prop Dave Buckley (see lead story) who leapfrogged them both to go a point clear at the top.

Press/Collier Plant Hire Player of the Year leaders: Buckley 13pts, Mapals 12, Spicer 12, Brown 10, Sullivan 10, Rhodes 9, Wray 9, Esders 6, Rayner 6, Helme 5, Cakacaka 4, Williams 3, Lowe 3.

THE Knights academy team suffered an 82-8 loss at Widnes on Thursday.

The table-topping Vikings had a few full-time ex-Super League players in the ranks and York's young team, featuring only three fringe first-teamers - not including Mark Spurr, who played for Great Britain Students in their 10-4 defeat to BARLA Under-23s - had it tough.

The Knights' points came from two Danny Giles goals - they actually took the lead with the first - and a Leigh Rientoul try. Tom Gargan had a try ruled out.

Coach Paul Higgins said: "We can learn from it - our players must aspire to be as good as them."

YOUNG Knights fans - this may be of interest.

The Knights have teamed up with the Rugby Football League to offer one youngster the chance to lead out Great Britain or France at the Frontline Test match on June 22.

The prize also includes a pair of tickets to the match, one for the mascot and one for their parent or guardian.

The match, at Headingley, will be Tony Smith's first in charge of the Lions and will be the start of 16 months of preparation for next year's World Cup in Australia.

To enter the draw to be a mascot, parents should email details of their child to leanne@ycknights.co.uk including their name, age, address, email address and contact number. All children must be aged between six and 12. The closing date is June 8.

Further details are on www.yorkcityknights.co.uk

For ticket information, visit www.rugbyleaguetickets.co.uk or call 0871 226 1313.

KNIGHTS STAT ATTACK

• After some consideration, the "goals" section in the Stat Attack panel has now moved into the "Bad Boys" section, given the Knights' poor return in this department.

GOOD BOYS

Press player of the month awards: Ian Brown 1, Lee Mapals 1, Jamaine Wray 1, Dave Buckley 1.

Press man of the match awards: Brown 2, Esders 2, Sullivan 2, Mapals 2, Rayner, Spicer, Wray, Cakacaka, Helme, Williams, Rhodes, Buckley, Lowe all 1.

Trade paper man of the match awards: Rhodes 4, Wray 4, Helme 2, Mapals 2, Thackeray 2, Rayner 2, Williams, Liddell, Sullivan, Buckley, Brooks all 1.

Tries: Mapals 11, Brown 7, Rayner 6, Thackeray 5, Buckley 5, C Spurr 7, Elston 5, Potter 5, Dunmore 3, Rhodes 3, Helme 2, Smith 2, Esders 3, Cakacaka 2, Wray 2, Priestley, Liddell, Sullivan, Grundy, Lingard, Spicer 2, Godfrey 3, Brooks, Lowe.

BAD BOYS

Goals: Wray 28/48; Gargan 10/13; Lingard 6/9, Liddell 3/7; Dunmore 1/3; Brooks 1/2; Rayner 0/1; Mapals 0/1; Godfrey 0/1; Lowe 0/1.

Penalties for York: 146.

Penalties against York: 150.

Yellow cards for York: MacDonald 2, Esders 1, Elston 1, Buckley 1, Godfrey 1, Wray 1.

Yellow cards for opposition: Gateshead 2, Toulouse 2, Keighley 1, Barrow 1, Swinton 1, Blackpool 1.

Red cards for York: 0.

Red cards for opposition: 0.