YORK City Knights boss James Ford will leave it late to announce his line-up for Sunday's potentially explosive encounter with Workington Town - but he has revealed he has "a lot more options" this time.

In their last match, the Knights travelled to Whitehaven with only one half-back in Connor Robinson, with Ford forced into experimenting with prop Graeme Horne at stand-off.

They also lost centre Jake Butler-Fleming to an early injury, meaning interchange hooker Will Jubb had to play almost the entire match out in the threequarters. The club's other first-choice centre, Brad Hey, also had to play on the wing after Judah Mazive failed a fitness test.

Their nine-match winning run duly ended.

This weekend, however, Ford has three dual-reg players from Hull KR to call on in Will Dagger, Will Oakes and Jordan Walne, Mazive is fit again, and livewire hooker Harry Carter is also pushing for a recall after his lengthy knee injury.

Said Ford: "I've got a lot more options this week.

"There are three or four good wingers, three good hookers, other options at half-back.

"It's a tough situation (to have to decide who plays where) but a better situation for the team and the club than when we went to Whitehaven."

Ford was to confirm his line-up in-house after the last training session of the week.

His options include using Dagger or Ben Cockayne at stand-off or full-back, Ash Robson on the wing or at full-back, Will Oakes on the wing or at centre, and Joe Batchelor in turn at centre or second-row.

There are permutations in the pack, too, with Horne set to revert to a front-row role while Walne - The Press man of the match at Haven in his second outing for York - could play prop or back-row. Chris Siddons is left out.

On the dual-reg inclusions, Ford said: "We've got a small squad and one or two players coming back from injury in there. We do need reinforcing from our dual-reg partners. They've got quality players and, more so, quality people who will fit straight into our environment.

"We love having them here and I'm sure they enjoy it as well."

Whichever 17 he plumps for, Ford said it was vital the team "rectified" their display in Cumbria in order to stay on Bradford Bull's heels at the top of Betfred League One.

"I think it's really important that we rectify the level of our performance - it was miles off our standards," he said.

"We weren't good enough to withstand the pressure that Whitehaven created and a bit we put on ourselves, and some that was placed on us wrongly (be refereeing calls).

"We've spoken about that. It's about showing resilience and bouncing back when things don't go our way.

"I'm looking forward to seeing them go out there with the bit between their teeth."

Workington, who signed six-time Super League champion Ryan Bailey ahead of the season only to see him depart to Leigh in April, recently bolstered their ranks with the loan recruitment of former NRL star Kyle Lovett from the Centurions, in addition to that of veteran Tongan cult hero Fuifui Moimoi.

Lovett, though, is not in Sunday's squad, nor is ex-York and ex-Super League full-back Jordan Tansey.

However, seasoned star Sean Penkywicz, the former Halifax, Huddersfield, Leigh and Toronto hooker, returned from injury to bag a hat-trick in the impressive win at Newcastle last time out, while forward Karl Olstrom is back in contention, too, after injury.

Penkywicz's battle at number nine with fellow past-master Andy Ellis will be intriguing.

Town also have big prop Jack Blagbrough in their ranks on dual-reg from Leigh. Blagbrough had a loan spell at York in 2015.

Ricky Bailey and Caine Barnes are missing from the side that beat Newcastle. Joe Hambley, Kurt Maudling, James Newton and Scott Rooke are added in the 19.

Knights: from Dagger, Robson, Oakes, Mazive, Hey, Batchelor, Cockayne, C Robinson, Ellis, Jubb, Carter, A Robinson, Walne, Kelly, Scott, Spears, Roche, Horne, Porter.

Workington: from Forrester, Patrick, Singleton, Miller, Hambley, Forber, Doran, Wilkes, Penkywicz, Scholey, Olstrom, Maudling, Blagbrough, Moore, Curwen, Dawson, Moimoi, Newton, Rooke.