YORK City Knights have quietly launched a new kit for 2015 with a new design and a fancy new sponsor, BMW Cooper York.

They will also be playing back in the city centre for the first time since 1989, sharing Bootham Crescent with York City until the new community stadium is erected.

However, they won't be wearing those shirts or playing those games in the new-look Championship, as had been the plan, after Gary Thornton's team suffered a painful demise in their Championship One do-or-die semi-final against arch-rivals Hunslet.

Instead, they will be going back to the likes of Gloucestershire, Oxford and South Wales, and trying out Coventry too after the Bears became the latest expansion club to be allowed into Championship One. This division will be harder to get out of next year, too, with Barrow, Rochdale and Swinton back in there.

Leading 12-0 at half-time, albeit against the run of play, the young Knights, feeling the effects of a hard first period in which they worked heroically in defence, came up with an error-strewn second half which allowed Hunslet to stay on top and keep the field position necessary to turn the game around.

The Hawks had been kept scoreless for 55 minutes but, once they snapped York's resistance, they broke through again five more times, to ultimately triumph 32-24 after a bonkers final quarter of twist and counter-twist.

It means it will be they, not York, who meet Oldham in next Sunday's Grand Final. The fact York won the league, beating Hunslet three times along the way, counts for little by comparison - the league leaders' trophy already losing its shine.

Knights chairman John Guildford tweeted over the weekend that 14 players had agreed to stay - at last an outward sign the club have plans for next year.

However, the future of head coach Gary Thornton, whose contract ends in October, remains unclear. As does that of other players who were waiting to see what division York would be in before committing to deals.

Thornton himself reckons the club's future is bright if they keep their young team together, with or without him.

Unfortunately, however, their inherent lack of experience didn't help the present.

The team really needed someone to steady the ship once the tension set in, but, with James Ford ruled out by injury, Lee Paterson, a veteran of York's 2005 promotion success, was the only player in the 17 over the age of 25.

If only Jason Golden and Iain Morrison hadn't succumbed to injury early in the year.

Jack Lee, the 25-year-old captain, nearly did it with a try to halt Hunslet's comeback and put York 18-10 up. What a story that would have been had that touchdown killed the Hawks' promotion hopes - with Lee, of course, set to join them this winter.

In truth, though, Lee had another indifferent game - his form, which still has him as favourite for the Championship One Player of the Year prize come Tuesday night, nose-diving since his impending switch was made public in early August.

Kriss Brining's game management at hooker also needs to improve if he is to fulfil his massive potential.

The biggest issue today, though, was the number of unforced errors that helped to keep Hunslet on the front foot, despite their own mistakes. Cool heads had been called for, but composure was not retained.

Referee George Stokes didn't help too much, either, pinging Jack Aldous, twice, and Greg Minikin, for losing the ball deep in their own half, when on another day penalties for reefing could have been forthcoming.

Stokes, an unpopular figure at Huntington Stadium, also found reason to penalise York twice when in possession on Hunslet's line, and ruled out an Ben Dent try for a forward pass when the hosts were finally getting a first-half foot in the game. Second-half penalties against Lee Paterson and Brad Brennan also led directly to away tries. But he wasn't the reason they lost.

Dent did still open the scoring, intercepting an Aaron Lyons pass on half-way, Ben Reynolds adding his first of four conversions, but only after wonderful defence had held up Danny Maun at the other end while Lee Brickwood and Gavin Duffy were also both tackled into touch. York may miss the narrowness of the pitch at this soon-to-be-demolished arena.

York got a shot in the arm on half-time when, after a penalty, Pat Smith scampered in from Josh Tonks’ offload which caught the defence napping.

But their first-half tackling efforts probably took their toll as fatigue set in and concentration set out.

After the sides traded handling errors, Jimmy Watson cut the deficit to 12-4 on 55 minutes.

Within three minutes, Paterson gave away a penalty and the excellent Liam Hood got over, David March adding the first of his four goals.

The previously prolific Lee struck back with his first try in five games but the visitors’ tails were up as Danny Maun charged down Reynolds’ clearing kick and scored.

Then Tyler Craig’s sloppy forward pass was punished as Hood put Hunslet ahead for the first time with eight minutes left.

Then Brad Brennan conceded a penalty from which Gavin Duffy scored.

It wasn’t over, as Greg Minikin’s excellent run was halted by Duffy, who was sin-binned for preventing a play-the-ball, after which Ryan Backhouse made it 28-24.

But as Reynolds went for broke in the last minute, Hawks full-back Watson got to his chip first and countered for James Duckworth to seal victory.