FEATHERSTONE Rovers have named a youthful squad predominantly of fringe players and academy youngsters for Thursday night's fixture against York City Knights.

The Championship big-guns fielded the bulk of their first-teamers in their friendly against neighbours Wakefield Trinity Wildcats at the weekend - a 22-18 defeat - and were never likely to have many of them double up against the Knights. They also take on another Super League side, Salford, this coming weekend.

They will have in their ranks two players familiar to York, though, in prop Jake Joynt, who has had two spells with the Knights, playing seven times for Gary Thornton's men in early 2014 and two for James Ford's class of 2015 at the start of last season, and 20-year-old winger-turned-back-rower Curtis MacDonald, who was on the Huntington Stadium books at the start of 2014 but went off to Australia without playing a competitive game for the club.

Joynt was in the squad that met Wakefield but is likely to get considerably more minutes on Thursday.

Rovers have named an 18-man squad in all, including a plethora of teenagers in Matthew Hobson, Ryan Strafford, Jack Render, Louis Brown, Charlie Holland, Will Plimmer, Liam Blockley, Jack Carroll, Louis Brown, Danny Sowerby, Josh Field, Charlie Holland and Brad Sutcliffe.

Another of the home side, Jacob Jowitt, was among five men sent off when a young Rovers team drew 6-6 with amateurs Featherstone Lions in a friendly earlier this month.

Team-mate Ethan Flowers also saw red that day, along with Lions trio Scott Glassell, who had a brief spell at York last season, Josh Hardcastle and Danny Glassell.

Admission to Post Office Road on Thursday - York's first outing of the year after their opening friendly against Hull fell foul of the weather - is £5 for adults, £3 for concessions and £1 for juniors.

Featherstone: Matthew Hobson, Ryan Strafford, Will Plimmer, Liam Blockley, Jack Carroll, Louis Brown, Danny Sowerby, Bradley Hill, Matthew Stableford, Jake Joynt, Jacob Jowitt, Curtis MacDonald, Josh Field, Charlie Holland, Jack Render, Adam Swift, Brandon Conway, Brad Sutcliffe.