TEENAGE prop Ronan Dixon has signed an extended deal which will keep him at York City Knights until the end of 2019.

The former Wakefield academy starlet, an ever-present so far this term, has joined Brad Hey in agreeing a longer-term deal at Bootham Crescent, as the new-look Knights continue to plan for the future.

He was one of those players to come out of the under-19s arena in Super League last year without bagging a senior contract, but had been highly regarded at Trinity, especially by former boss Brian Smith. Knights head coach James Ford also believes the 6ft 3in 102kg packman to be a major prospect.

"He's 19 years old playing at prop forward," Ford said. "He has shown plenty of desire to work hard and a really impressive mentality towards improvement.

"He's shown glimpses of his potential and I believe as he continues to grow and mature he can become a really dominant middle-unit player.

"He's not the biggest now but that's because he's so young. He's holding his own in his first year (of senior rugby) and as he continues to grow and develop he will show more ability.

"I have a lot of confidence in him and look forward to helping him reach his potential."

Dixon, who doesn't turn 20 until late July, has played in all six York games so far this season, starting four and being used as interchange twice.

He said: “The club has been really good to me and I’m enjoying my time here.

"I’m glad to see things are going so well and I feel that I am improving week in week out both individually and as part of this team. I can’t wait to see what the future is holding for us.”