In the Mitchell men's run to the top of Central West Rugby Union's second tier with seven consecutive victories, centres Jack Keppell and Regan Hughes have, arguably, been the form players of the competition.

They have formed a deadly combination in the students' midfield and been the catalyst for many attacking raids.

Keppell's boot has been a huge factor in CSU's six consecutive victories while his long cut out passes have helped his fellow back line talents find space on the fringes.

Though balancing his rugby union commitments with rugby league, Hughes' bullocking, barging style of play has inspired many of the students' wins.

Coach Dave Conyers rated his performance in last Saturday's victory over Mudgee as his best thus far and said while his big workload in both codes saw him give representative trial a miss, he would be have worthy of a Central West jumper.

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That CSU duo are both among the player-of-the-year front-runners, provided by Central West's referees association in no particular order this week.

Mudgee duo Tom Dunstan and James Hord are both also among the second tier's six MVP leaders while Blayney's Baz Hobby and Narromine's Craig Campbell are in the mix too.

Despite being ruled out after three rounds with a broken leg CSU's Claire Woolmington remains among the Westfund Ferguson Cup's front-runners, with her side in a share for the lead with the also-unbeaten Bathurst Bulldogs.

However, reality is her being sidelined means another talent should be crowned player of the year.

Woolmington's CSU team-mate Rachel Brown has been superb for the students too and is in the mix as well, as are Orange Emus' Em McDonald - fresh off her debut Super W season with the ACT - Dubbo Rhinos' Caitlin O'Connor, Temora's Nikki Jordan and Mudgee's Helen Blackmore.