YORK City Knights insist they will not take players out of the city's amateur arena unless they are "going to play a big part for us".

Many semi-pro outfits have in the past been criticised for raiding the amateur game only to use those players sparingly during the season, meaning the community clubs lose key men from their teams while the players themselves see little action on the field.

But Knights head coach James Ford says this will not be the case regarding Joe Porter, who has been taken on trial from amateur neighbours York Acorn just as both clubs step up preparations for their respective seasons.

"I don't want to take players out of the community game unless they're going to play a big part for us," said Ford.

"But we do want people to see we're giving players like Joe Porter a chance. We want all young players to see there is a pathway if they're good enough and work hard enough.

"I hope Joe becomes a regular for us. We will have a look at him and see how he goes. If he plays as well as I think he can, we'll look to take him on permanently as long as he's happy as well."

Recent new Rugby Football League rules have come in which may help.

These allow a semi-pro player on pay-as-you-play terms to remain registered to their community club as well, meaning they can return to the amateur arena if not being picked by the pro outfit. Porter will be offered these terms should he come through his trial.

Ford added: "I understand the issues from the amateur clubs' perspective. It's a bone of contention when a pro club takes players who then don't get a game.

"It's a problem in the sport that's above my station. We need to be bringing players in and bringing players through, not losing them from the game.

"It's certainly not our intention to take players out of the amateur game for no reason. We want to work with good clubs like Acorn for the benefit of rugby league in the city and to help give players a pathway."

The Knights boss has long advocated bringing back a reserve-grade academy side to create such a pathway to his first team, although he does not want to see a repeat of past problems - throughout rugby league - when amateur players were drafted in to make up numbers on reserve match-days, leaving them unavailable or too fatigued to play on a Saturday for their community clubs.

The Knights' new owners have also discussed having a second string again but do not want it to be on those old problematic terms.

Meanwhile, Acorn head coach Leigh Paul-Rientoul obviously does not want to lose his best players but, having spoken to Ford and Porter, is happy for the player to have a shot with the Knights. "We play this game for players to have the chance to do that," he said.

Paul-Rientoul himself, while starring for Acorn a decade ago, turned out for the Knights' reserve academy team, but he never signed pro forms.

Back then, doing so made players ineligible for county or international recognition with BARLA (British Amateur Rugby League Association), even if they quickly returned to the community game.

"I've seen it from both sides," he said. "You want your players to progress, but some players can go to a pro club but then not get a game for a year and so they don't benefit while the amateur club also loses out. Ultimately they can be lost to the sport.

"For me personally, I got picked to go on tour with (BARLA) Great Britain and at that time if I'd signed at York I'd sign away the amateur status that allowed me to do that and see a bit of the world. Players have to weigh things up like that."