YORK City Knights fell to a 32-10 defeat to Featherstone Rovers at the LNER Community Stadium in their 2022 Betfred Championship season opener.
Here are five things that we learnt from the game.
1. Positives to be taken from a defeat to the promotion favourites
It was the common consensus among many Championship experts that the promotion chase will be a two-horse race between Featherstone Rovers and Leigh Centurions.
The two clubs are rumoured to have each spent over £1million on their playing squads, more than double that of the likes of York.
While Leigh put last year's play-off outfit Whitehaven to the sword 50-4, the Knights were a far more competitive side against Fev.
York stuck in the contest and, while only scoring once in the latter 40 minutes, remained well in the game and were perhaps unfortunate not to cross again through a chance for Jack Logan.
There were certainly positive signs shown by James Ford's side but these now needed to be turned into victories, starting against Dewsbury Rams at the weekend.
2. Two recognised half-backs cannot arrive soon enough for York
Perhaps it was just York's luck that, having secured three half-backs for this year, only one was available on Monday night.
With Liam Harris suspended and Brendan O'Hagan not yet match fit, Jamie Ellis led the halves commendably.
It was far from a perfect display by the 32-year-old but his long kicking in particular was a marked improvement from last year's often makeshift halves.
O'Hagan is expected to return on Sunday, with the Australian complementing Ellis' organisation through his running game.
Top-quality recognised players throughout the spine can only benefit York's attack this year.
3. Jordan Thompson produces another stand-out performance
York's man-of-the-match award was again given to Thompson on the back of another stand-out performance.
Stepping into the boots of modern club legend Tim Spears is no easy feet but Thompson is already making his mark at loose forward.
"He's going to be a real key player for us this year," said Ford.
4. Fantastic to see a record York City Knights crowd
The opening of the LNER Community Stadium amid coronavirus restrictions has meant that the new ground never really had a grand opening as envisaged.
While York drew in good crowds for games against Bradford Bulls and London Broncos last year, Monday night's 3,602 was by far the largest attendance for a Knights game at Monks Cross.
Featherstone deserve plenty of credit for bringing around 1,000 fans as do York for continuing their policy of free tickets for under-16s, an offer taken up by plenty of local schools.
5. Bright start for Premier Sports
The news of Premier Sports' return to rugby league through Monday Night Championship matches was met with some scepticism on its announcement.
Concerns about part-time players featuring in mid-week matches remain legitimate, but the freshness brought by Premier Sports hopefully quelled some criticism.
Regular clips of the action on social media as well as some insightful punditry from recently retired Leon Pryce and Kevin Brown point to a bright future for the broadcaster.
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