YORK City Knights chief executive Steve Ferres has said the club would follow the progress of former trialist Carl Hughes after the half-back was picked to go on tour with the Great Britain amateur Lions.

BARLA (British Amateur Rugby League Association) Lions coach Mick Turner has named a 26-man squad to play in the Victory Cup in Russia in May before jetting off to Australia a month later to take on the Australian Aboriginals in a proposed seven-game tour, culminating in a two-match Test series.

And 21-year-old Hughes, who plays for Yorkshire League premier division leaders Stanley Rangers ARLC, has fulfilled a dream by winning selection to a squad made up primarily of Arriva Trains Conference players.

Hughes, who scored four tries in seven games for the Knights at the end of last season, had put off signing professional forms in the hope he would have international commitments with BARLA this summer, and that decision has now paid off.

However, fellow Knights trialist Neil Mears, the Normanton prop who had also been hoping to be picked for BARLA, had his hopes dashed as he has not been able to prove his fitness following a knee operation late last year.

Ferres said he was delighted for Hughes. "It was something he was hoping to achieve and he's achieved it," he said.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for him, which probably only comes once in a lifetime if you're lucky.

"He has the opportunity to go to Russia and then to Australia for a month and I'm delighted for the lad. He's put a lot of work into his game and his training and he's a genuinely nice, likeable lad.

"We wish him all the best and we'll continue to monitor his progress."

Last year's inaugural Victory Cup, featuring BARLA, USA, Russia and France, proved a great success, with France beating Russia in the final at Moscow's Olympic Stadium. Following on from that, New Zealand Defence Force have been added to the line-up, while Serbia-Montenegro were last week confirmed as the sixth entrants.

As for the Lions' tour down under, Hughes and co will be looking to defend the 'Perpetual Trophy' which the Lions won in 2002, beating the Aboriginals 30-6 at Robin Park, Wigan, and 26-20 at Mount Pleasant, Batley.

BARLA Lions squad: D Goddard (Army), P Toole (Blackbrook), M Rogers (Eastmoor), P Raftery (Eccles & Salford Jnrs), D Kilshaw (Leigh East), L Wingfield (Leigh East), D Patterson (Leigh Miners Rngrs), T Goulden (Leigh Miners Rangers), D Tyrell (Oldham St Annes), A Lindsey (Shaw Cross), C Hughes (Stanley Rngrs), D Mitchell (Thatto Heath), A Bretherton (Thornhill), A Broadhead (Thornhill), C Rudd (Wath Brow Hornets), C Calvert (Wath Brow Hornets), M Deans (Wath Brow Hornets), P Davidson (Wath Brow Hornets), S Teare (Wath Brow Hornets), C Lee (West Hull), G Last (West Hull), T Lynn (West Hull), G Corfield (Wigan St Judes), J McMullen (Wigan St Judes), C Jones (Wigan St Patricks), P Egan (Wigan St Patricks).

Hull KR have been fined £3,000 after being found in breach of Rugby Football League Bye Law Section Two, 11B concerning misbehaviour of spectators.

They had faced two charges following matches against Oldham on August 17 and Leigh on September 28.

The panel ruled that for the offences in the Oldham match Rovers should be reprimanded and pay costs of £200 but for the offences in the Leigh game their verdict was Hull KR be fined £3,000, £1,000 to be paid within 28 days with the rest being suspended until December 31. Rovers were also ordered to pay the costs of £400 for the second offence.

Updated: 10:53 Thursday, February 26, 2004