YORK City Knights received another fixture blow last night when North Wales Crusaders called off their hastily arranged friendly.

With the Racecourse Ground they share with Wrexham FC unavailable, the Crusaders had organised to play the game at the nearby Rock, home of Cefn Druids FC, next Sunday.

Both clubs had wanted another run-out due to a weather-disrupted pre-season campaign.

However, in an email to the Knights, they said they have had to cancel the match due to "the unavailability of a rugby league affiliated safety officer to be present".

It means the Knights, having seen their friendlies against Hull and Featherstone fall foul of the weather, are set to head into their season opener at Hunslet on February 21 having played only one pre-season fixture - the 20-16 loss to Castleford Tigers last Friday.