DANNY KIRMOND has signed a new deal with the York Knights, keeping him at York for the 2023 season as a player/assistant coach.

Kirmond joined the Knights in 2021 from Wakefield Trinity, where he played for eight years and served as captain.

Since arriving at the LNER Community Stadium, the back-rower has made 43 appearances for York, starting 40 games across two years and notching eight tries.

Kirmond’s move into coaching comes after the departure of Ben Cockayne, who held a similar role last season.

The 37-year-old will assist new head coach Andrew Henderson in what will be his first season at the helm.

“First of all, I’m delighted to have re-signed with the Knights,” enthused Kirmond. “It’s a club that’s really going in the right direction and that’s been sold to me both within and around the club.

“It’s a place that I’ve really enjoyed playing my rugby in the last couple of years. I’ve really enjoyed working with Clint (Goodchild, York RLFC owner) since he has come in and he’s got a great vision and awareness of the opportunity that the club has been presented with.

“He really sold that vision to me in the off-season and I wasn’t really too sure what I was going to do in 2023.

“Obviously I’ve had a lot happen in my personal life in the last four or five months and the club has been really good with me in that period.

“By that, I mean everyone at the club – Fordy (James Ford, ex-head coach) before, Clint, the fans and the boys as well.

“That was the main reason for me staying, really, and I feel I needed to repay a bit of that faith and that loyalty.

“In sport, there isn’t a lot of loyalty that comes back the other way but York really showed me a lot of loyalty in that time.

“That’s something I really appreciated and to have the opportunity to stay for another year is something that I’m really excited about.

“I’m excited about the opportunity as a whole but also playing in this group and continuing the progress we’ve made in the last 12 months.”