Winger Kyosuke Kitano was named the Lotto NRFL Men’s Division 1 player of the month while coaches Ron Warbrick and Geoff Cooper took home the coach of the month prize with their team riding high in the competition.

Elsewhere, Onehunga Sports’ Omi Takuyuki scooped the Lotto NRFL Men’s Premier League player of the month award while Glenfield Rovers’ new recruit Sarah Gibbs took out the Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier League award.

Referee Mark Vincent was judged April’s supreme Lotto NRFL official.

The three winners of the players’ awards are found via voting by opposition coaches during each match in the league.

Coaches of each side nominate the top two players from the ranks of their opponents on match day with their first choice earning two points and the second choice one point.

Cumulative totals are kept throughout the month and Kitano, Takuyuki and Gibbs were tops for their respective divisions in the opening month of the season (the top 10 players in each division are listed below).

The trio have also taken the early lead in the race for the player of year honour in each of the three Lotto NRFL divisions.

The 26-year-old Kitano scored all four of his goals to this point in the season in the opening five games played before May 1 while also catching the eye of the coaches he faced in taking their top vote in four of the five games he played in.

Warbrick says Kitano has slotted in well in his first season at the club and his on-field skills have obviously impressed.

"Kyosuke is a quick player and he has greating shooting technique and he always gives 100 percent," Warbrick said.

Although his team haven’t made the fastest of starts to the season – currently in second last position, Onehunga Sports’ Takuyuki (26) got out of the blocks very quickly.

Two of Takuyuki’s four goals for the season to date came in his side’s opening day 3-3 draw with Hamilton Wanderers.

He played in four of the five games his club had in April and was voted the best player in three of those matches while taking second best in the other.

Onehunga Sports’ coach Ross Nicholson is an admirer of his striker who has experience playing in the lower leagues of football in Germany.

“Omi has a small grasp of English but what he does have is an eye for goal and outrageous speed. He is a dangerous dribbler of the ball, can play the ball on the floor and can out-jump most six footers,” Nicholson said.

The 26-year-old Gibbs, a member of Auckland Football’s National Women’s League champion side in 2007, made the move from Three Kings United to Glenfield Rovers for this season and was picked out as the best of Ron Armstrong’s players in two of her side’s four matches in the month of April.

Armstrong believes Gibbs’ experience has helped his side greatly in the opening rounds of the 2009 season.

“Sarah has been a positive influence on our side and has brought a real steadying influence in our defense,” Armstrong said of his fullback.

For Kitano and Takuyuki, the honour could also lead to a spot on the Kia Motors Lotto NRFL All Star team later in the year, with positions in the squad reserved for the monthly award winners.

Under Warbrick and Cooper’s guidance, Onehunga Mangere won three of their opening five matches before May 1 and sit in second spot in the Lotto NRFL first division – just a point behind leaders Three Kings United.

All this for a team who have finished no better than seventh in the lowest tier of the Northern League since 2006.

Warbrick says he and Cooper have worked well as a partnership which is now bearing fruit with an emphasis on youth in the third year of a three-year plan.

"We had nine players involved at the weekend with Onehunga High School connections and the atmosphere in the club is great at the moment."

Vincent, 47, earned the official of the month award with an assured series of displays in the Lotto NRFL Men’s Premier League after fighting his way back from injury.

Auckland Football Referee Development Officer Paul Smith says Vincent’s award is just recognition for an official who worked hard in the summer to earn his return to the Lotto NRFL Premier League.

“Mark is a referee who shows maturity when handling players and games at this level and his consistent performances have been duly rewarded,” Smith said.

All five winners of the April awards will also receive a $50 Lotto Sportswear voucher to spend at one of the two Lotto outlet stores in Onehunga and Hamilton.

Check out the top 10 players in the April Player of the month voting below.

Lotto NRFL Player of the Month points totals - April

Photos by Shane Wenzlick