KING of consistency Yusuf Sozi was rewarded for his solid efforts with the player of the month award for July prior to last Sunday's game.

But while the supporters would not have been surprised to see his efforts rewarded, the powerhouse prop admitted he was a little taken aback by the presentation.

He said: "It was a bit of a surprise. Everybody hasn't been playing that well in the last few weeks and I would have rather won it at a time when we had been doing better.

"But it's still an award."

Following the forwards-driven triumph against Barrow, he said it was a great feeling to have shaken off the run of four defeats and all eyes were back on promotion.

He said: "All we can do now is win the rest of our games and let the other results handle themselves. If we don't make it top, we are going to have to do it the hard way. But we know we can do it.

"We had a bad month, our confidence wasn't very high and we stopped doing what we were good at, but we are back now."

He added a word of thanks for the supporters who turned out to roar the side on. "It was good for all the fans to come even though we were losing. It shows they are prepared to follow us."

Knights fan Alfie Brown presented him with his award, while Barry Thorn handed the June award to Austin Buchanan.

If you fancy getting up close and personal with your favourite players on the Huntington Stadium pitch, all you have to do to be in with a chance is tell us who you think was the Knight of the day after every match.

Nominations need to reach the Evening Press by the Friday after. Votes can be cast by either email to peter.martini@ycp.co.uk or on the back of a postcard to Peter Martini, Evening Press Sportsdesk, 76-86 Walmgate, York, YO1 9YN. Please remember to include your name and daytime telephone number so your name will be thrown into the hat for a pair of VIP tickets.

After such an emphatic win last weekend, splitting this week's Evening Press/ Collier Plant Hire player of the year awards was no easy task.

And you seemed to agree, with four different players picking up nominations.

Scott Rhodes pocketed the three points from the Evening Press man of the match, just edging out Jim Elston, who took two. The final point went to newcomer Craig Farrell and, remarkably, the fans' vote was split exactly between all three, to give each an extra point.

Jackson 25pts, Rhodes 25, Ball 21, Friend 18, Brough 16, Callaghan 13, Langley 13, Elston 11, Sozi 9, Graham 7, Cain 6, Forsyth 6, Buchanan 6, Godfrey 5, Stewart 5, Wilson 4, Briggs 2, Farrell 2, J Smith 2, Wood 2, Walker 2, Hayes 1, Andrews 1.

Rugby-mad girls are being given the ideal opportunity to have a go at their favourite sport in the latest round of York City Knights Summer Roadshows.

A special girls-only session will be held at Knavesmire this week led by community coaches and Knights players to put prospective players aged 11 to 16 through drills and skills.

The session will take place from 1pm until 3pm alongside one of the regular roadshows for eight to 12-year-olds and could form the first step of getting a junior girls side together for the York area.

Knights development officer Jason Ramshaw said: "We are hoping we might get enough interest to form a team and look at competing in summer festivals.

"We will also be doing some work with secondary schools when term starts because there are things like the Yorkshire Water girls league that they can get involved in.

"It's all part of our mandate to increase participation across the board."

The other session taking place next week is at Canon Lee School on Tuesday from 1pm to 3pm.

All three cost £2 per person and each player needs to complete an application form available from the Knights office on 01904 656105.

There was mixed news for two former York players this week.

Carl Hughes, who was on the Knights books as an amateur so he could qualify for BARLA selection, but decided to join Featherstone Rovers instead when he got back, has broken a leg.

The halfback was making his Academy debut for Fev when he snapped a fibula - one of the two shin bones - and has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Brad Davis, on the other hand, was celebrating after becoming the oldest Super League player ever when he turned in a man-of-the-match winning performance for relegation-stricken Castleford Tigers.

The 36-year-old Aussie stand-off scored the first try and helped create five others in a storming performance that vindicated Gary Mercer's decision to bring him back.

Speaking of wasps, there was a double presence during Sunday's game.

As anyone listening to the Radio York will know, the press bench was the site of a continual buzzing during the match.

And former York chairman John Stabler was also in attendance with his company, Stabler International, the official match sponsors.

The next Supporters' Club event will see the stadium bar transformed into something Austin Powers would be proud of in a Sound of the 60s Disco.

Tickets for the night, on Saturday, August 14, cost £5 including a basket meal.

It all gets going at 7.30pm.

Play the Ball was compiled this week by Claire Hughes

Updated: 09:57 Saturday, August 07, 2004