For the second straight day, a leading National Lacrosse League Rookie of the Year candidate has won a lower-profile award.

On day after Philadelphia forward Sean Greenhalgh picked up the Sportsmanship Award, the league announced today that Portland LumberJax defenseman Brodie Merrill is the 2006 Belmont.com Defensive Player of the Year.

2005   Andrew Turner
       Rochester K'Hawks
2004   Cam Woods
       San Jose Stealth
       Taylor Wray
       Calgary Roughnecks
2003   Jim Moss
       Albany Attack
2002   Pat Coyle
       Toronto Rock

The award is for defensive runners; a separate Goaltender of the Year award will be handed out tomorrow.

Merrill, the first-overall selection in last summer's NLL Entry Draft, becomes the second rookie to win the award and the first to win it outright (Taylor Wray tied for the most votes in the 2004 balloting).

Merrill scooped up 214 loose balls in 2006, the second-highest total in league history, surpassed only by the 226 scoops Toronto Rock captain Jim Veltman had this year.

He also had a significant influence in the LumberJax offense, tallying 32 assists and 49 points, but his biggest impact was his leadership, serving as an assistant captain and stepping up many times to guide Portland towards an 11-5 regular season record and the Western Division title.

The Defensive Player of the Year Award is voted on by the general managers, head coaches and executives of the NLL's eleven teams.

NLL will name recipients of the various awards all this week and next, continuing every weekday until the selection of the Most Valuable Player on Thursday, 11 May.