YORK City Knights fell to fifth in the Betfred Championship after suffering a 36-10 defeat at play-off rivals Halifax Panthers.

Here are five things we learnt from a tough night at The Shay for York.

1. Halifax living up to pre-season hype

Back-to-back defeats for York have seen the Knights drop from their long-standing position of third down to fifth, falling below Halifax and Batley Bulldogs, now third and fourth respectively.

Naturally and justifiably fans have been frustrated by not only the successive defeats to Barrow Raiders and Halifax, but the manner of them, with York struggling to find their best against their fellow top six rivals.

With that said, reflecting solely on the Halifax defeat, it is important to recognise the strength of the Panthers.

In pre-season, the bookmakers, the trade media and the majority of Championship fans predicted Halifax to be Leigh Centurions and Featherstone Rovers' nearest challengers.

And so it stands with nine rounds left to play given Fax's remarkable run of 12 wins from their last 13 matches. Having won both meetings with York at a canter, credit should be paid to the opposition.

2. Defeat like this had been coming for York

While York headed to The Shay in a higher position than Halifax with a greater number of points, it was hard to not see a defeat coming.

The reverse fixture at the LNER Community Stadium ended in an emphatic 40-24 away win and, since then, only one of the following five matches can be said to have been won convincingly - the 40-16 triumph at 11th-placed Whitehaven.

Wins over bottom-half sides London Broncos (36-34) and Widnes Vikings (16-14) were ground out by two-point margins and, ultimately, scrappy performances can only overcome so many sides in this division, as the past two matches have proven.

3. Too early to judge new combination

The headline York team news was that of the inclusion of Liam Harris, Brendan O'Hagan and Jamie Ellis in the same starting 13 for the first time.

To make a snap judgement on the success of that combination after just 65 minutes together (Ellis went off injured in the second half) would be wrong and, given their undoubted individual talent, it is a ploy worth persevering with.

It did however highlight just how much Matty Marsh is missed at full-back and how vital a cog he is in the Knights' attacking play.

4. Back-to-back defeats should not spell doom and gloom

The two defeats to Halifax have shown a disparity between the two sides, yet that should be not cause for excessive doom and gloom.

Given the struggles of 2021's ninth-placed finish, for York now to sit level on points with Halifax and Batley is a remarkable achievement.

At present, the eight-point gap over Bradford Bulls, in seventh, looks sizeable particularly amid the turbulence being felt over at Odsal.

The Knights remain in a solid position still ahead of a fascinating end-of-season run-in.

5. Batley match is now huge

If the trip to Halifax felt like a pivotal game, then the clash with Batley is surely even bigger.

Once again it's fourth against fifth, although this time it is York that occupy the lower position.

Since the Knights' narrow 10-4 win at Mount Pleasant in February, Batley have lost twice in the league, a one-point defeat at Bradford and a 52-0 hammering by leaders Leigh.

Last month's win at Featherstone caught the eye but a draw with Whitehaven and a two-point success over Sheffield have shown that they can be beaten.