JACK ILEY will play against the York Select XIII tomorrow as a fully-fledged York City Knights player, writes Peter Martini.

The former Featherstone fringe man – he was a regular in their under-23s last year but has been allowed to leave as he is too old for the new U20s – has agreed terms following a successful trial at Huntington Stadium.

He now offers Knights boss Gary Thornton another option at loose-forward, where the squad was light, or hooker.

Thornton said: “He’s got good attributes. He’s not the biggest but his work-rate is phenomenal – you can see that in training.“He’s one of them who might not be spectacular but will work really hard for the team, and you need players like that.

“We want to have a good look at him in the trial games but I don’t want to miss out on him. I’m giving him an opportunity at York.

“I don’t think we’re in a position to knock people like him back.”

Iley will start tomorrow’s game at the back of the pack.