YORK City Knights' under-20s match against Rochdale tonight has been called off as the Lancashire club cannot raise a team - despite the Knights’ last-ditch attempts to make up the numbers themselves.

The game is now unlikely to be rearranged - all U20 Championship matches have to be completed by next Friday and there are no available dates before then - and as such the Knights U20s’ play-off hopes could be hit.

Placings in this league are calculated on win percentage and, if the match is filed as “not played”, then York’s percentage goes down, perhaps taking them out of the play-off places.

Knights U20s manager Jack Stearman, who began this season at Gateshead Thunder and is now player-coaching with his amateur club New Earswick All Blacks, offered to sign trial forms with Rochdale in order to make up their numbers.

Knights commercial assistant Tom Hardy, 21, his brother Kieran, 20, and friend Lester Bell, 20, who all play rugby union for Driffield, were also preparing to don the Dale shirt on trial forms in a bid to get the game played. However, the Rugby Football League would not sanction it.

The same scenario has apparently hit the top-of-the-table decider between Salford and Featherstone tomorrow, with Rovers having to pull out. It is thought Salford are being awarded a victory in that one by RFL chiefs and the Knights are demanding they likewise get given the result from tonight having done their utmost to get the game on.

The Knights U20s’ last match of their regular campaign is at Oldham a week on Friday.