YORK City Knights have taken former player Dean Andrews back on trial – and he will make his bow in tonight’s reserve-grade academy friendly at Dewsbury.

Alongside him will be fellow back-rower Carl Barrow, who has now signed on for the season after enjoying a successful trial of his own.

Andrews, 28, played two games for the Knights in August 2004 – scoring a try on his debut – after arriving as part of the swap deal that took Damian Ball to Hull KR. But a groin injury then curtailed his season and he left for Doncaster that winter.

He then had a spell with Sheffield Eagles before switching to rugby union with Hull.

He is looking to return to the 13-a-side code now, and has been training at Huntington Stadium with a view to winning a deal for the remainder of this season.

Knights player-boss Paul March said: “I spoke to him earlier in the year but he had other commitments playing elsewhere. He wants to come down and give it a go and hopefully win himself a contract.

“He’s been looking good (in training). He’s a committed and professional lad. It will be good to see how he goes tonight having not played (rugby league) for a while.”

Barrow featured in three of the Knights’ four Northern Rail Cup games after an impressive pre-season, though he sat out the Challenge Cup win over Wigan St Patrick’s last time out.

March said he was delighted the New Earswick All Blacks amateur was now fully on board and said that, even though his appearance tonight meant he was unlikely to be involved in Sunday’s big Championship One opener at Dewsbury Rams, he was a key member of the first-team squad.

Barrow, 27, had delayed signing as he wanted to make sure he would get regular match action.

“I’m really glad he’s signed,” said March.

“It was dragging on a bit but he’s now put pen to paper. He was always very committed but we now know he’s going to be staying.

“He’s a bit unlucky that he’s not playing on Sunday but we’ve got a full-strength squad to pick from and I’ve chosen what I think is the best team for that day.

“He is definitely a key member of the squad, though. Everybody is. Injuries and not having personnel to come in let us down last year, but this year we’ve got that.”

Also involved tonight, having been in recent first-team reckoning, are young prop Jack Stear-man, second-row Kris Peacock, hooker Chris Williams, utility Steve Grundy, and threequarters Johnny Waldron, Sam Blaney, Adam Jones and Tom Stancliffe. Jones made his competitive first-team debut against St Pat’s.

York College duo Dan Fairclough and Tom Lineham, who played in pre-season, will also feature, as will a couple of new academy recruits.

They are Chris Heil, who is a Wilberforce College and Hull Isberg ARLC player, who impressed Knights director of rugby James Ratcliffe in a student match, and Jordan Rice, of Hull University and Castleford Lock Lane ARLC.

Tonight’s game is the academy’s opening pre-season friendly ahead of their season, which starts next month, and is the first in charge for new academy coach Dan Beardsmore.

Kick off is 7.45pm. Admission is £4 for adults, £2 for concessions and free for under-16s.

The draw for the quarter-finals of the Northern Rail Cup, featuring the Knights, will be made tonight at half-time of the televised Halifax v Widnes Championship clash.

Knights reserves: from Fairclough, Joe Stearman, Lineham, Stancliffe, Heil, Blaney, Waldron, Jones, Watling, Endersby, Williams, Rice, Hunter, Jack Stearman, Peacock, Barrow, Grundy, Walton, Andrews.