JIMMY Elston has taken advantage of winger Alex Godfrey's three-game injury absence to close the gap at the top of the scoring charts.

Godfrey seemed to be running away with it with 13 tries in as many games but pacey Elston has notched two in the last two games to get into double figures - a feat all the more notable as 13 of his 16 appearances have been off the bench and therefore with reduced game-time.

Last year's joint-top try-scorer with 14, Darren Callaghan, also crossed against Sheffield on Sunday to get back into joint-third place alongside centre Chris Langley, both on seven, while Damian Ball and Scott Rhodes are tied on six.

Oddly, Mark Cain, who finished only one behind Callaghan and fellow table-topper Trevor Krause last season, is yet to get over the whitewash this year in 13 appearances.

HAPPY birthdays to Knights aces Mark Cain and Simon Friend who turned 28 and 27 on Monday and Thursday respectively.

For what it's worth, Cain shares his birthday with James Brown (the Godfather of Soul, not the former Knights squad member), Engelbert Humperdinck, Frankie Valli and Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones - so it might be worth offering him the mike at a karaoke night.

Friend, meanwhile, shares his birthday with Tony Blair. Commiserations, Simon.

IT will be interesting to see how former Knight Darren Robinson gets on at Rochdale after re-signing back at Spotland for a club he left in acrimonious circumstances early last year.

The 24-year-old left the Hornets under a cloud and then had short spells at York - he left the Knights amid rumours of changing room disharmony - Sheffield and most recently Dewsbury, for whom he played against the Knights in the Arriva Trains Cup group stage.

Robinson was a fans' favourite in his first spell at Spotland, scoring 37 tries in 61 appearances, and new Hornets coach Bobbie Goulding had "no hesitation" in taking him back.

The move means he is unlikely to play against York again this season - something which may well disappoint some of the Knights players.

Updated: 08:32 Saturday, May 08, 2004