Knights signing hailed as one for future (From York Press)

Knights signing Clark Thompson hailed as ‘one to watch’

11:50am Monday 8th October 2012 in Sport By Peter Martini, peter.martini@thepress.co.uk

GARY THORNTON is predicting a bright future at York City Knights for his latest recruit, Clark Thompson.

The 21-year-old front-rower has joined Thornton’s new-look Knights outfit from Castleford, where he has been a cornerstone of their academy and reserve teams.

He is well known to the new Knights boss, who was head coach of the Tigers’ reserves for the past three years, and Thornton reckons the player’s release from Wheldon Road could prove a fillip for York, as it gives him a chance to shine in the open-age arena in the Championship.

He said: “Clark is a Normanton lad who has been in the Castleford academy for a number of years.

“He has been the cornerstone of the U21s and U20s pack since he was 18 years old, without really being able to break through into the first team. He’s still young as props go, and is maturing all the time, and this move will be good for his development.

“He is a big, bustling prop, he can be a real handful on the pitch, and he has the size and the frame to trouble any opposition. But he also has some skill that you don’t always associate with prop forwards these days, with a great offload and passing game.

“I’m confident he will become a big favourite with the fans.”

Thompson becomes the seventh prop signed on at Huntington Stadium for 2013, joining Paul King, Adam Sullivan, Nathan Freer, Jack Aldous, Austin Bell and teenager Tim Stubbs, and his arrival is likely to complete the list of front-row options to start the campaign.

It is not the end of the pack recruitment, though. The Knights’ club statement on Thompson added: “The club hope to announce the signing of a new back-row forward later this week.”