THE injury to Jason Golden has given his team-mates the chance to close the gap to the top in the Press/Collier Plant Hire Player of the Year competition.

Full-back Matt Blaymire was the first to make a move, thanks to his man-of-the-match accolade in last week's impressive performance in the Powergen Challenge Cup fifth round defeat to Huddersfield.

Blaymire, runner-up in last season's player-of-the-year competition, thus collected three points for this year's tally to rise to joint-third.

Prop David Bates (2pts) and captain Lee Paterson (1pt) battled away from the front and thus picked up this week's other points. Paterson, the club's reigning Players' Player of the Year, thus gets off the mark in the Press/Collier standings.

Golden still has a nine-point lead over his nearest challenger, Jim Elston, who is also currently crocked.

Latest standings: Golden 21pts, Elston 12, Blaymire 8, Law 8, Spicer 7, Rhodes 7, Buckley 7, Wray 6, Farrell 5, Hasty 5, Fox 3, Bates 5, Smith 3, Bovill 2, O'Loughlin 2, Sullivan 2, Paterson 1, Forsyth 1.