AUSTIN BELL has boosted York City Knights' front-row force by agreeing to stay for 2015 - while fellow prop Jake Joynt is poised to return to the club.

Boss James Ford reckons both can prove to be big players next season in a pack which already also comprises double Player of the Year Jack Aldous, Ireland international Colton Roche, local ace Ed Smith and former Player of the Year Mark Applegarth, who has returned as player/assistant-coach.

No-nonsense front-rower Bell, 23, joined York two years ago following his release by Hull. He played 16 times in his debut season in the Championship and came back bigger and better this year only to see his impressive start to the season curtailed by injury which restricted him to three games between early April and September and 11 overall.

Said Ford: "I'm really pleased he's staying. His best years are ahead of him. He's still young, especially for a middle-unit player and he showed a lot of promise at the start and end of the season.

"He carries the ball really aggressively and is a handful for defenders. Unfortunately he picked up injuries - if he had continued on the curve he was on, he would have continued to improve.

"His attitude and approach are excellent - he trains with real intensity and he demands the same from people around him - which is part of the culture we want.

"We will be pushing Austin to get more out of him. I think he has the ability to contribute more. There are one or two subtleties we need to brush him up on but, crikey, he's got lots of potential."

Joynt, meanwhile, played seven times for York at the start of the 2014 season before work commitments curtailed his campaign.

The former Wakefield youngster had previously played for Ford in York's under-20s before joining Featherstone midway through 2013, gaining brief first-team experience with the Championship big guns.

Said Ford: "He's assured me those work commitments are now over and he's chomping at the bit to get back involved.

"He's working hard in the gym to improve his physique even further.

"Jake plays with enormous intent - when Jake Joynt hits you, you stay hit.

"But he needs to realise he's got better skill and footwork than he gives himself credit for. We will be encouraging him to develop as a ball player and improve his decision-making. That's our role to get him to the next level."

* KNIGHTS loose-forward Lee Paterson has missed out on selection for Scotland's 20-man party for their European Championship opener against Wales at Workington tomorrow night.

As reported by The Press, Paterson was named in the initial train-on squad. Iain Morrison, who has now left the Knights for Swinton Lions, was also named in the train-on squad but likewise will not be involved.

Ex-Knights Danny Brough, the Bravehearts' captain at last year's World Cup, Ben Hellewell and Nathan Massey are set to play.

Dan Fleming, who had one dual-reg match for York this year, Ollie Olds, who played two games for York in 2012 and is now with Ipswich Jets in Australia, and Gateshead's former Knight Matty Barron, are in the Wales squad.

Meanwhile, Knights prop Colton Roche has had to withdraw from the Ireland squad for the Euros due to work commitments. "I'm gutted, but that's life," he tweeted.