THE York Select XIII finally got reward from exertions in the Lee McTigue Memorial match by turning over the city’s professional club.

However, it was a York City Knights player of recent times – and potentially the future – who proved the match-winner.

New Earswick hooker Tom Hodgson, whose career at Huntington Stadium was put on hold due to studies in the North-East, scored two tries as the amateur representative team won 16-6 in the annual Charity Challenge, the Knights’ first pre-season encounter.

It was the first time they had triumphed, having drawn the inaugural game and lost narrowly in last year’s re-match.

They certainly deserved victory yesterday, having been the better team throughout on a snow-covered pitch with a ball which at times must have been like ice.

The young, new-look Knights made too many handling errors to test the Select defence, with their one try coming from their only real attacking position in the first half.

Select winger Joe Stearman dropped a high kick by Jonathan Schofield, and, following the scrum, the ball was shipped to Lee Waterman, who brushed aside Stearman and had too much power for two more defenders.

Waterman, being trialled at centre, nonchalantly booted the extras from the touchline and generally did enough to suggest he could forge a niche for himself in the threequarters.

He, full-back Danny Ratcliffe – captain for the day – and Brett Waller were the Knights’ standout players, big prop Waller making several powerful runs.

Paul Stamp injected some urgency at hooker and Carl Barrow battled well, while Jy-mel Coleman, after entering the fray, showed up better than fellow young half-back Schofield.

But then it was not the kind of conditions for little Schofield to revel in.

He forced a couple of drop-outs with kicks, as did Coleman, but that – along with a disallowed try by centre Chris Clarke after Coleman’s fine pass was harshly called forward – was the limit of the Knights’ attacking prowess.

Still, they were awful conditions, while the bulk of the Knights’ pre-season work so far has been in the gym. They were also, of course, missing many key players.

As it was, a couple of old Knights, Jonny Liddell and Daz Callaghan, controlled proceedings, while little scrum-half Tim Elliott and props Davy Burns and Jack Stearman also impressed for the rep side.

Two Liddell penalties made it 6-4 before Hodgson dived on a loose ball from an Elliott kick for a half-time lead, and scored a trademark try from dummy-half for the only score of the second half, Liddell adding all the extras.

The margin of victory could have been greater, as the move of the game, set up by Elliott and Joe Budd and finished by Steve Mackley, was ruled out for a forward pass.

Knights: Ratcliffe, Reittie, Waterman, Clarke, Stancliffe, Hampshire, Schofield, Waller, Stamp, Freer, Hardbottle, Duckworth, Williams. Subs: Coleman, Falkingham, Barrow, Applegarth.

York Select: Budd, S Mackley, M Embleton, Callaghan, Joe Stearman, A Gargan, Elliott, M McTigue, Varley, Jack Stearman, Hill, Judson, J Liddell. Subs: Hodgson, Speck, N Caldwell, Wright, Burns.

Referee: Matthew Kidd (Castleford).

Attendance: 426.