FRENCHWOOD number one Mick Nelson continues to lead the Terry Sayers individual merit awards after his latest 21-15 win.

Undefeated after seven games is a unique record for Mick who has helped in the overall performance of the team who are in second place in the division for the first time in nine years.

Team mates Steve Edwards and Peter Wilding who both have seven points and respective totals 53 and 26 have also made a big contribution for the team effort.

Captain Rob Taylor and Glyn Andrews who have also made it on the leaderboard with five points, can climb the table as they face three away games.

Last year's runner-up Brian Tomlinson is proving the only consistent Alex player so far and has moved into third place on the leaderboard with eight points.

Colin Campbell remains number one for Witton with eight points followed by team-mate Mick Lee who has a valuable seven points. Louis Stevenson continues to lead the Rose 'N Bowl contingent with eight points from nearest team-mate Jimmy Lord on five.

Sunnybank stars this year are Brian Haworth and his nephew Simon who have seven and six points respectively.

Both these players have featured in the previous merit awards, indeed, Simon was champion in 1996. Although the leaderboard reflects the current state of affairs to date, it does not recognise the fact some have played more home games than away.

Remembering a home win yields one point and away is worth two points, can alter the table quite dramatically over a short period.

Nevertheless it continues to provide a great competition and inter club racing throughout the season.

Leaderboard: Mick Nelson (Frenchwood) points 9, total 55; Terry Wood (St Annes) 9, 47; Brian Tomlinson (Alexandra) 8, 22; Colin Campbell (Witton) 8, 21; Louis Stevenson (Stacksteads) 8, 14; Steve Edwards (Frenchwood) 7, 53; Dave Worthington (St Annes) 7, 33; Mick Lee (Witton) 7, 27; Peter Wilding (Frenchwood) 7, 26; Brian Haworth (Sunnybank) 7, 23; Simon Haworth (Sunnybank) 6, 30; George Gregson (Bamber Bridge) 6, 29; Geoff Pugh (Bamber Bridge) 6, 13; Dave Barnish (Lostock) 6, level; Bob Cowling (Lostock) 5, 25; Don Yeadon (St Annes) 5, 15; Rob Taylor (Frenchwood) 5, 3; Glyn Andrews (Frenchwood) 5, 3.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.