YORK Acorn ARLC chiefs are set to ask the players themselves if they should change a key policy in times of need.

Generally, players who do not train during the week are not selected on a weekend but the loss of chief kicker Antony Chilton for "two or three months" due to midweek work commitments has highlighted an issue that can crop up in the amateur game.

Head coach Leigh Paul-Rientoul is considering asking the squad whether players in that predicament - who want to train but can't - should still be up for selection.

Chilton missed last week's narrow National Conference League division one loss to Hull Dockers, the half-back situation made worse as Timmy Elliot was also out injured.

"Ant is working down south so can't train, so we're going to go with the players we've got," Paul-Rientoul explained.

"It's one of those things. But if he's not training, we can't select him, even though it's not his fault.

"He's our main goal-kicker and field kicker and in some respects we build the team around him, but when he's not training it's sending out the wrong message to the lads if we pick him, even if he can't help it. It's a tough one. He still wants to play."

Asked if it was something that could be put to the squad themselves, Paul-Rientoul said: "Funnily enough, me and Dave (assistant-coach Dave Kay) discussed that.

"We have a couple of people out with work commitments who, really, are too good not to be playing.

"It's something we can ask the players. If they're fine with it then we'll crack on. If not, we'll work around it."

Joe Budd and Matt Chilton, Ant's younger brother, did well at half-back last week and are pencilled in to continue in Saturday's tough trip to early high-fliers Hunslet Warriors.

But Paul-Rientoul also faces a problem at prop, with Davey Burns still injured and fellow key performer Tim Stubbs also now unavailable due to work. The pack was already weakened pre-season after Joe Porter turned pro with York City Knights.

Said the head coach: "It's a big blow. Tim had a bit of a leg injury anyway so a couple of weeks off might help him, but it's not good to have an in-form prop out."

In better news, veteran former amateur international prop Adam Endersby, who had been out of first-team contention due to work, is available again and has been shining for the 'A' team.

Acorn, after winning their opener, have lost their last three games and will need to overturn the formbook to end that run on Saturday.

But Paul-Rientoul said: "We can get something, definitely.

"We're just doing silly things at the moment - penalties, dropped ball and stuff like that.

"In the last three games, the total difference is 12 points (scorelines of 22-20, 28-22 and 10-6). We're competing, we're almost there, but we need to smarten up a bit.

"We were 20-12 up (against Dockers) with 10 minutes to go yet we're trying to chuck the ball around rather than completing sets.

"Injuries and unavailability hasn't helped either."

Meanwhile, in the Yorkshire Men's League first division, Heworth, New Earswick and Acorn 'A' are all on their travels, to Knottingley, Norland and West Hull respectively.

Heworth and All Blacks began with comfortable victories last week while Acorn 'A's game was controversially abandoned for alleged foul language to the referee, with a disciplinary hearing scheduled for next week.

* YORK Acorn ace Lewis Lord, a student at Loughborough University, has been selected for the 30-man England Universities train-on squad preparing for the Student World Cup in Australia in July. They will train and play warm-up matches before being trimmed to a final 24.