YORK City Knights new boy Sam Smeaton insists he has no regrets over his decision to stay part-time.

The on-loan centre rejected the opportunity to go full-time with Sheffield Eagles at the end of last season and moved instead to Kingston Press Championship rivals Halifax.

Smeaton's opportunities at The Shay, however, have been limited and he has now dropped into League One to spend a month with the Knights.

He said: "I have not got a bad word to say about Sheffield but the club wanted to go full-time and that was not right for me. I have no regrets at all about turning down the offer."

Smeaton, who works as an electrician when not playing rugby league, says it was a matter of putting his family first.

"I have got a young family – my son is two and a half – and my partner works part-time," said the 27-year-old.

"The time was not right to go full time. A few years ago, I would have jumped at the chance, but quite a few players moved on, not just me."

Ironically, the Eagles have struggled since going full-time and are locked in a battle to retain their Championship status.

The Knights, meanwhile, are second in League One with sights firmly set on promotion after taking maximum points in the last four games.

"The team is playing well here and we are second in the league, so things are looking good," said Smeaton, who made his debut in last weekend's 50-6 victory over Oxford.

"I hadn't played at Halifax for about four weeks when I got a call through an agent saying that (Knights coach) James Ford was interested.

"It didn't take me long to make my mind up," he stressed. "I had no reservations whatsoever about dropping down a division. I just wanted to be playing rugby week-in, week-out."

Smeaton spent five years with Featherstone before moving to Sheffield Eagles 18 months ago and missed only one game last season. At Halifax, he has made only 12 appearances.

Both Smeaton and packman Andy Robinson joined the Knights on short-term deals from Halifax last week – while coach Ford had previously signed Ross Divorty and Tommy Saxton from The Shay.

"Knowing so many of the other lads is helping me settle in," said Smeaton. "The lads have been great and I thought my first game went well – but I was still getting used to the players after two sessions."

Asked whether he would be interested in staying at Bootham Crescent beyond his initial one-month loan, Smeaton was non-commital.

"I have not really thought about that," he said. "I guess it will be a case of whatever suits both parties. For now, I just want to play week-in, week-out and get some consistency going."

Significantly, Smeaton has quickly been impressed by the training methods employed by the Knights – which can only bode well for a longer-term deal.

"It is very intense but the way they train and the structures that James Ford has put in place are the best I have been involved with," he said.

Smeaton will make his second appearance for the Knights in Sunday's clash with University of Gloucestershire All Golds.

A victory in that game could see the Knights draw level on points with leaders Toulouse, who they play in eight days' time.

After that they take on fourth-placed Keighley Cougars before the league splits into two for the Super 8s.