individual award, the Weissel Medal.

Voted on in all grades by referees, Forsyth was a runaway leader in the under 16s competition when voting went behind closed doors after round 10, the

representative star having collected 20 votes to lead his nearest rivals by nine points.

In what can only be described as a

scintillating start to the season, Forsyth was deemed best on ground in six consecutive games from round two, starring in the Bulldogs matches against Gundagai, Lavington, Tumbarumba, Young, Kangaroos and Junee.

Unavailable for the round eight clash against Temora due to rep commitments, Forsyth, who has scored 15 tries and booted 38 goals for the Bulldogs this season, bagged another two Weissel Medal votes against Brothers the following weekend.

The Bulldogs had the bye in round 10, Forsyth missed the following week’s game against Tumut, but bagged another 16 points in Sunday’s 10-point win over Gundagai.

Forsyth’s teammates Luke Berkrey and Ben Jamieson have also played leading roles in the Bulldogs’ surge to the top of the competition ladder, both having collected five Weissel Medal votes in the opening 10 rounds, while Jordan Ward, Joe Bradley, Rhees Richards, Ben Potts and Simon Lienesch have also polled points over the opening half of the season.

If Forsyth was to hold onto his lead, he would repeat the efforts of Scott Piffero who claimed the Sullivan Cup Weissel Medal in 1995, while Forsyth’s current under 16s coach Clarrie Cook won the reserve grade medal in 1998 and giant prop Scott England was voted the best and fairest first grade player in 2002.

Bulldogs first grade captain coach Grant Boyd and hard working forward David Edwards are within striking distance of the lead in the first grade medal count, both having collected eight votes over the

opening 10 rounds.

Southcity’s Kyle McCarthy is a surprise leader on 12 points, while Lavington’s Ricky Hurunui and Junee’s Sam Quinn are one behind on 11.

Leon Boyd (Young) and Chris Mayberry (Kangaroos) have nine votes to their credit, while Brothers’ duo Grant Wooden, who has missed a lot of club football due to

representative games, and Scott Orr are next best on eight.

Level with Boyd and Edwards on seven points are Lavington’s Nathan Coelli, Tumut’s Anthony Coyle, Trevor Krause from Temora, Malakai Latu from Tumbarumba and Krause’s teammate Brendan Sing.

Nathan McGowan has collected votes on three games to be an outside chance on six points.

The reserve grade leaderboard is devoid of any Cootamundra players, with utility Andrew Bucknell the best placed Bulldog on five, coming from four one-point collects and a two-point effort against Junee in round seven.

Gundagai’s Dale Piper leads the race for the reserve grade crown on 15 votes, followed by Temora’s Phillip Reardon on 14, with a five-point gap to Brothers’ Lance Adams on nine.

All four Weissel Medals, along with other awards for the 2008 season, will be presented at a gala dinner to be held

at the Capitol Entertainment Centre in Wagga on Friday, September 26.