Workington Town 18-44 York City Knights: Five things we learnt

Here are five things that we learnt from the match at Derwent Park.

1. Professional Knights never looked like losing

From the moment Liam Harris dummied his way through the Workington line after three minutes, it never appeared as if York were in any trouble of coming away from Workington empty-handed.

The Knights made a blistering start by scoring four unanswered tries inside the opening half an hour to surge clear of Town.

Although the hosts did cut York’s lead to eight points midway through the second half, the Knights showed their class to kick on and bag three scores in the final 15 minutes.

For York, it was another win secured this season which proved to be an effectively one-sided contest.

Victory at Derwent Park was the fourth time this season that James Ford’s side have won by 26 points on more, following on from similar triumphs over Dewsbury Rams, Newcastle Thunder and Widnes Vikings.

Putting aside the narrow win at London Broncos which finished at a rather misleading 26-24 scoreline in favour of the Knights, the narrowest victory has come in the mud-bath at Batley amid Storm Eunice, which York edged 10-4.

The success of 2019 seemed built on narrow wins but York seem to have found an ability to win with far more ease this year, displaying a clinical streak in capitalising on periods of dominance.

2. York attack hits its strides on fast track

York’s last trip to Cumbria was a day to forget as the Knights fell to a bruising 38-12 at Whitehaven in the Betfred Challenge Cup.

While it should not be used as an excuse, the wet and muddy pitch meant that free-flowing attacks were not in order, although that did not stop Haven running up a 28-0 half-time lead.

The Knights were faced with a different proposition at Workington, where the warm weather set up a dry and fast track upon which their ever-improving attack hit as many as 44 points on the road in just under a year.

Of course, having two recognised and fit half-backs, in Brendan O’Hagan and Liam Harris, provides a stark contrast to the often mix-and-match pairings of last year, and vastly improves York’s kicking game.

Equally as important though are the pair’s ability at challenging the line. Harris twice showed his maverick running game with two sublime dummies over the line.

And O’Hagan displayed sublime athleticism to jump high to keep a Harris grubber alive for an easy Levi Edwards touchdown.

3. York not getting carried away by early start

Five wins from York’s first seven league matches leaves them third in table, behind only likely runway pair Featherstone Rovers and Leigh Centurions, the only sides to beat the Knights in the league this year.

Even less than a third of a way through this season, it already seems as if Ford's side have made great strides from last year's disappointing ninth-placed finish.

The York head coach though is evidently not getting carried away by his side's start, and one would think that the same attitude was apply to his players.

“I think that the league table at this stage of the year is for the supporters, I wasn’t aware of that," said Ford, when asking about now sitting third.

“We’re just focusing on our performances and taking it a game at a time.”

4. Unsung hero Will Jubb shines once again

James Ford once again chose to single out Will Jubb for praise in his Workington post-match interview and rightly so.

The hooker had a key hand in two first-half tries; assisting Jordan Thompson's score and starting the short-side move that Joe Brown profited from.

He also helped himself to a try in the second period with a smart dart out of dummy half to go under the sticks.

Ford though was particularly keen to praise Jubb's defence. “He’s absolutely pivotal to this team," the head coach said. "The level to which he defends at for the duration that he plays is phenomenal.

5. Another cruel injury blow to Kriss Brining

The aforementioned Jubb had to play big minutes once more following a head injury to fellow nine Brining.

The former Salford Red Devils had terrible luck with injury last year and found himself restricted to just eight appearances in total.

A sombre Ford said: “I feel for the bloke because he’s a great bloke and he doesn’t get much luck, does he?”