THREE former York City Knights loanees have been called up to the England Knights squad which faces Jamaica on Friday night.

England Knights head coach Paul Anderson has Mikey Lewis, James McDonnell and Aaron Smith - all of whom have previously represented York - in his 20-man squad.

Half-back Lewis earns a place in the international set-up for the first time off the back of an impressive campaign with both Hull KR and York.

Across two spells with James Ford's side this year, Lewis played six times for the Knights, scoring four tries and one goal while playing at full-back as well as in the halves.

The 20-year-old was particularly influential in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup, as York booked a first trip to Wembley since 1931 in the final with Featherstone Rovers.

Lewis scored in the semi-final win over Swinton Lions and in the showpiece against Featherstone, although the Knights did eventually fall to a 41-34 defeat.

The form Lewis showed at York earned him a recall to Hull KR and he cemented his place as a regular start at the back end of the year as the Robins progressed to the Betfred Super League play-off semi-finals.

McDonnell also had two successful loan spells at York in 2021 from Wigan Warriors, making seven appearances for York at second-row.

The back-rower racked plenty of minutes when featuring in wins over Oldham, Widnes Vikings, Whitehaven and Newcastle Thunder.

St Helens youngster Smith outlined his talent when scoring four tries in just three games for the Knights back in 2018, the year in which the club won the League One title.

The hooker has gone on to appear intermittently for the Saints who have won a series of trophies since his debut in 2018.

England Knights squad: Matty Ashton, Jack Broadbent, Lewis Dodd, Levi Edwards, Matthew English, Morgan Gannon, Sam Halsall, Tom Holroyd, George Lawler, Matthew Lees, Mikey Lewis, Ellis Longstaff, James McDonnell, Liam Marshall, Kai Pearce-Paul, Will Pryce, Aaron Smith, Danny Walker, Oliver Wilson, Connor Wrench.

Elsewhere, former York star Joe Batchelor was successful in his first Grand Final appearance as St Helens triumphed 12-10 over Catalans Dragons at Old Trafford.

Batchelor scored 38 tries in 48 matches for the Knights before his move to the top-flight giants Saints ahead of the 2019 campaign.