SO, we have another weekend off - but will it be good for York City Knights.

Much has been made this year of the need to keep everyone fit and fresh and peaking at the business end of the season - namely the Championship One play-offs - so much so that Knights boss Gary Thornton has promulgated a rotation policy, giving certain players weeks off here and there and a little less game time.

This is despite the fact it is already a shorter season than last year (20 games compared to 26 in the Championship), which has meant a later start and already a blank weekend on the fixture list, prior to this Sunday off due to the Knights' Challenge Cup exit.

In days of yore, including in Thornton's own playing days at semi-pro level, it was a lot simpler - you trained three nights a week and played on Sundays. Every week, unless you were injured. For much longer seasons.

There are plenty who think this remains the best way: the only way to get properly match-fit, the only way to get better, to stay sharp is by playing matches, and not letting up in training in between.

These days, there are weeks off, rotations, breathers, and as much down time as up time in training.

It also looks likely that Super League will follow the Championships' lead and do away with the traditional Easter double-header in order to aid players' welfare.

So what's changed?

"It's a science these days," says Thornton, whose own fitness and physiotherapy department has grown, even at this semi-pro level, with new coaches, nutritionists and experts joining the team, led by head of strength and conditioning Jamie Bell, seconded from partner club Castleford.

"Those guys have a big impact. Jamie has a big say on things. They take many more measurements than we used to have. You look at minutes on the pitch, for example, and at exactly what point people start to make individual mistakes due to fatigue.

"There's more about player welfare, making sure players are at peak performance. How many minutes they play and train and what is getting the best out of each player and keeping them most healthy through the season and going into the back end of the season.

"It's a science we didn't really have before. As methods develop and improve, you have to grow with them and take them on board."

As for this particularly week off, Thornton said: "Personally, I like to play week in week out but this does give you chance to clear up a few injuries."

Iain Morrison, Greg Minikin, Jason Golden and James Ford were probably in mind, with Morrison and Minikin almost certain to be back for next week's game against London Skolars.

"It might not be great for people like Nathan Harper and Ryan Backhouse, who came into the team for the first time last week and would be looking for a run of games. But for Ed Smith, Ryan Mallinder, Jack Aldous, Jack Lee, who have played big minutes, it possibly comes at a good time.

"It can also help mentally as well as physically as players can refocus."

Thornton came in for some stick when, despite a recent week off, and despite already seeing a few players sidelined with injury, he rotated a few more for the game with Oxford, only to see it backfire with a surprise defeat. However, some justification followed as the Knights followed up with victory at Gateshead in the harder of the two encounters.

Also, Mick Cook took his fair share of stick for "tinkering" back in 2005 and look what happened that year - the Knights' one title to date.

"We've got a pretty hectic period coming up with no weeks off until the end of July and quite a few long trips. You have to be prepared for that," said Thornton, whose men still had a training session this weekend, albeit a less intense one, prior to 'up time' next week, to give bruised bodies "time to recuperate".

"It's only a 20-game season and we don't have as much workload as with a 26-game season but you still have to manage it properly.

"You can't forget these (semi-pro) players have to work as well and they can come to training on a night already tired. You have to make sure they are in peak condition and so you have to take advice from the strength and conditioning guys."

 

THE desire to rest and rotate players probably meant that early-season hope of an unbeaten league campaign was always likely to be overly optimistic.

Three straight Championship One wins, including victory at arch-rivals Hunslet, plus the Challenge Cup toppling of Whitehaven, had some Knights fans contemplating a 100 per cent winning record all summer.

Nobody from within the club every displayed such bravado, though, and, of course, the run ended with the surprise loss to Oxford.

Would it have ended had York played their strongest available team and Oxford rotated their thinner squad? Almost certainly not. But then would the same York players have been able to back-up at Gateshead on Good Friday? Would those players have been able to stay at a winning peak all season? Who knows.

Some supporters have slated the Oxford defeat. The time to really pass judgement will be at the business end of term.

YORK won't be in it but at least two clubs from the Championships will be included when the draw for the quarter-finals of the Tetley’s Challenge Cup take place at 6.30pm on Monday live on the BBC News channel.

The quarter-finals will be played over the weekend of June 7 and 8.

The final is on Saturday, August 23, and tickets for rugby league's annual pilgrimage to Wembley cost from as little as £22. They can be purchased by calling the 24-hour Ticket Hotline on 0844 856 113 or by visiting www.rugbyleaguetickets.co.uk

 

ANYONE remember Garry Green?

He was the Aussie forward the Knights tried to sign in 2009 only for the then 28-year-old to have a visa rejected due to a change in UK Border Agency rules, even though he'd played for Batley the previous season.

Well, reports in Australia say Green, now a property agent on Australia's Gold Coast, has been accused of helping marijuana dealers invest fortunes, and, charged with trafficking, he could face a long stint in jail if convicted.

Police allege the 33-year-old was “heavily involved in the financial affairs” of a syndicate that smuggled as much as $15 million of cannabis from Melbourne through Brisbane Airport. They could also charged him with money laundering.

Green, who spent Easter behind bars prior to a bail hearing, has reportedly denied the charges.

 

WE'LL update The Press Player of the Year standings in this column next week. In the meantime, send in your votes for Player of the Month here or email peter.martini@thepress.co.uk

The April award takes in the defeats to Swinton in the cup and Oxford in the league and last week's win at Gateshead.

The player with the most votes gets a gong and three bonus points to his player of the year tally.