YORK City Knights have spoken to Huddersfield’s ace veteran, Brad Drew, about making a shock short-term move to Huntington Stadium.

The Press can reveal new Knights director of rugby Dave Woods had a chat with his fellow Aussie during which they discussed the possibility of the 34-year-old moving to York as he works his way back into first-team contention at the Super League outfit following knee surgery.

Woods admitted such an audacious move would be unlikely to come off, but the club have not ruled out the possibility of pairing him up again with former Huddersfield half-back partner Chris Thorman – who himself is set for a return to action this weekend.

Moreover, said Woods, it went to show how far the Knights were casting their net in search of reinforcements, not least for the problematic half-back and centre positions.

Woods also confirmed they were now in the market for a new second-row in the wake of Danny Hill’s axing and Chris Clough’s four-match ban.

Said Woods: “We’ve continued to look at things since I’ve been here and there’s been a lot of players we’ve spoken about or to.”

The Press understands one of those targets was a young centre from St Helens, Tom Armstrong. But the 20-year-old then tore a hamstring in a rare first-grade appearance during the Murrayfield Magic weekend. Woods knew Armstrong from his recent coaching work at Saints.

Another was Leeds hooker Paul McShane, who stood out in the friendly against the Knights earlier this year and has been shining for the Rhinos reserves – but he went on loan to Hull.

A third was former Knights favourite Craig Farrell, but his wage demands were too high.

As for Drew, the Knights chief – who knew him from their time at Penrith Panthers – said: “We have spoken to Brad to see if he’s interested in coming for a loan spell. He’s effectively doing his pre-season work now.

“We were having a general chat. He said he would have a think about it. He’s had offers to go on loan to other Super League clubs so we’re not necessarily waiting for him to call and say he’s coming – but it shows we’re not just sitting on our hands.

“We’re continually trying to do things. We will continue to search and we will bring people in as soon as we can. But we need to bring people in that are right for the club.”

Drew put off thoughts of retirement to rejoin Huddersfield in the winter after two seasons with Wakefield, for whom he played 34 times, scoring six tries, eight goals and one drop goal. He had played 82 times for the Giants from 2005 to 2007, scoring 17 tries, 13 goals and one drop goal.

Previously, he played for Penrith, Parramatta Eels and Canberra Raiders in the NRL.

Meanwhile, the Knights’ current star playmaker, Thorman, is set to return to action following his quad injury in tomorrow’s reserves match at Oldham, with a view to proving his fitness ahead of Sunday’s clash at home to high-flying Blackpool.