JAMES FORD believes young hookers Harry Carter and Kriss Brining can not only fill the boots of star man Jack Lee this year - but also “surpass those standards” as the season goes on.

Lee won individual awards galore during his five years at York City Knights, capped by the Championship One Player of the Season accolade last year as he captained to the team to title success.

However, he announced just before the end of the season that he was signing for arch-rivals Hunslet for 2015, and it was they who went on to take the sole promotion place through the play-offs.

His departure from Huntington Stadium also left a big hole to fill for a club looking to follow the Hawks up the Championship this year, but new boss Ford reckons pocket dynamo Carter, who only turned 21 this month, can more than make up for that loss, with fellow 21-year-old Brining, understudy to Lee for the last couple of years, also poised to step up his game.

“Harry’s got a challenge in front of him,” said Ford of the Wakefield-based youngster who has come through the club’s youth ranks.

“He’s replacing the Player of the Year in the competition, who has vast experience and undoubted quality.

“But I would not have given him the number nine shirt if I did not hink he could match or surpass the standards set by Jack over the last few years.”

Carter is poised to make his first-ever start for the first team on Sunday when they kick off their season with a League One Cup first-round tie at London Skolars (3pm). Brining is likely to come off the bench.

“In Harry and Kriss I have two potentially outstanding hookers who can play the game in different ways,” added Ford.

“They can play a ‘running nine’ role, come on as impact hooker, and play a starting role where the focus is the structural part of the game.

“Come play-off time, I’m very confident that we will have two outstanding hookers to choose from and possibly two of the best the club has seen in a number of years.”

Carter made his first-team debut at the end of 2012, made one appearance in 2013 and played six times in the first half of last season, all off the bench.

His appearances so far have therefore been fleeting but Ford says he knows him well, having first coached him at Wakefield College and also through the reserves while second-team boss.

“The fans might not have seen too much of him but I’ve seen a lot of Harry since he was 16 and his talent is obvious,” he said.

“He’s got areas he needs to improve but so has every player and I’m confident, given his approach and his ‘coachability’, that we will see him improve.”

Brining, a former scholarship starlet who became the Knights’ youngest-ever player when entering as a sub at Widnes in April 2011, has earned a reputation for punching above his weight in the tackle due to his tip-top technique.

He endured an injury-hit 2014, hampering his development, but, after extensive rehab in pre-season to overcome a long-standing neck/ shoulder problem, he can likewise, according to Ford, be a big player for the club this year.

“I think they’re both potentially fantastic players who bring plenty of different qualities,” he said.

“Both will be key players for us and I’ve got an immense amount of confidence in them.”

Reserve full-back/half-back Scott Talbot has been released by the Knights.