ASSISTANT-COACH Chris Spurr reckoned York City Knights’ second world record win of the season was not good for rugby league as a whole – but was good for the Knights’ title chances.

York hammered depleted West Wales Raiders 130-0 in Llanelli to set a new mark for the biggest-ever away win in the sport's professional arena – to follow on from their record 144-0 home win against the same hapless opposition in April.

Connor Robinson also broke the York RL record for goals in a match with 21 – just one short of the all-time rugby league record of 22 set by the great Jim Sullivan for Wigan in 1925.

The result put the Knights top of Betfred League One ahead of title rivals Bradford Bulls’ game at North Wales Crusaders 24 hours later and, crucially, it wiped out the Bulls’ points-difference advantage which had stood at 92 points.

Spurr, who took charge of the team as boss James Ford completed his two-match touchline ban, said of the lopsided result: “It’s not good for the game.

“It’s a difficult game to assess. We’ve travelled a long way for a game we were always going to win against 13 men. It’s not good for rugby league really.

“But we’ve got to be as ruthless as we can be chasing Bradford and 130-0 is a good scoreline in these wet and windy conditions so the lads have to be pleased.

“It’s good to get the two points and boost our points-difference.”

Spurr was hopeful it would “put a bit of extra pressure back on Bradford” - but he was not getting ahead of himself.

Asked if he thought the Bulls could rack up a similar scoreline when they go to Llanelli next month, he said: “Yes, if I’m honest.

“I believe they’ll come here and win by 100-plus. It’s not good for the game, is it.

“We’ll see how they go. We’ll just keep working hard and hopefully keep winning and putting the pressure on them.

“They’ll be thinking the same as us – keep winning and keep racking up points.”

He added: “We’re not looking at other sides though. We’re just concentrating on us and trying to win every game and keep the pressure on.”

Robinson bagged a total haul of 46 points from one try, 20 conversions and a penalty – 21 goals setting a new York record by bettering the 20 Chris Thorman scored in the 132-0 Challenge Cup win over Northumbria University in 2011.

On Robinson’s feat, which increases his lead in League One’s points and goals-scoring charts, Spurr said: “His kicking was exceptional, particularly in those conditions.

“Connor’s come a long way since he joined the club (in mid-2017) and he’s matured massively. He’s been a big part of what we do and I believe he’s got a massive future in front of him.”

Spurr was pleased with his team’s professionalism overall, intimating players could easily let standards slip or showboat when it’s so easy, while the fact they scored so many points in heavy rain and wind made the achievement better.

“I think the lads did well,” he said. “It’s a tough proposition in many ways. It’s taken nearly seven hours to get here, to play a team we’re always going to beat, and play in poor conditions.

“Everyone has done well. I’m proud of the way they’ve conducted themselves and the professionalism they’ve shown to stick to processes to get points.

“We’ve had a few errors but we still scored 130 points in poor conditions and we can’t really ask for much more than that.”

The try-scoring was led by Ash Robson, with four tries, and new boys Perry Whiteley and Matt Chilton, who each notched hat-tricks.

On debutant Whiteley, Spurr added: “I thought he carried the ball well and took his opportunities really well.”

The Knights lost winger Judah Mazive to a hamstring pull in the second half and he is immediately a big doubt for next week’s home clash with old arch-rivals Hunslet.

Aussie Joel Edwards, who notched his first try for the club, also exited prematurely as a precaution due to a back problem. Both will be assessed this week.