Hunslet 20 York City Knights 52

Hunslet: Watson, Hayward, Mvududu, Leeming, Webb, Gibson, Ansell, Hesketh, Lee, Reed, Normington, Mackay, Carbutt. Subs (all used): Coventry, Haley, Walton, Flanagan.

Tries: Mackay 50; Hesketh 53; Hayward 66; Flanagan 74.

Conversions: Ansell 66, 74.

Knights: Robson 9, Saxton 7, Haynes 7, Morrison 7, Foggin-Johnston 7, Harris 8, C Robinson 7, A Robinson 8, Jubb 8, Siddons 9, Batchelor 8, E Smith 8, Spears 8. Subs (all used): Carter 9, Dixon 8, Hey 6, Moran 8.

Tries: E Smith 12; Harris 16; Haynes 22; Siddons 24; Spears 31; Batchelor 38, 42; Morrison 69; Jubb 77.

Conversions: C Robinson 12, 16, 22, 24, 31, 38, 42, 77.

Man of the match: Ash Robson – a home supporter near the press bench summed it up thus: “This Robson is taking the mick.” Head coach James Ford withdrew the full-back after 50 minutes, partly to save him for Whitehaven next week and partly to stop him winding up opponents to the point they took retribution. But by then the game was won, with most of York’s other best performances also coming in the first half.

Referee: Greg Dolan (Wakefield) – perhaps let a few things go in a bid to let the game flow, but not too bad overall.

Penalty count: 10-8

Half-time: 0-36

Weather: pretty breezy and overcast, before a few clouds dispersed.

Attendance: 550 est

Moment of the match: there were some cracking tries, the pick arguably being James Haynes’ effort on the end of a flowing move down the left, winger Dee Foggin-Johnston having cut back inside to provide the scoring pass.

Gaffe of the match: the tackling was pretty poor for George Flanagan’s try which helped Hunslet cut the gap in the second period.

Gamebreaker: Chris Siddons’ converted try made it 24-0 after as many minutes and, with two more touchdowns coming before half-time, the game was up by the interval as Hunslet had no answer to a simply superb first-half performance by James Ford’s men.

Match rating: the first half was just brilliant for York’s travelling faithful, their side dominating every aspect and clearly enjoying themselves against their arch-rivals on their own turf. The second half tailed off, but there were still smiles aplenty after a half-century of points.