MARK Applegarth had no complaints with York Knights’ recent form, calling for his team to provide the right response to last Saturday’s setback in France.
Following on from consecutive wins over Castleford Tigers, Huddersfield Giants and Hull FC, York’s good run of form came to a stop on their travels to Toulouse Olympique, losing 30-22.
The Knights had looked a shadow of their recent selves in a first-half display that saw them trail by 28 points, but became more recognisable with a spirited effort in the second-half.
Whilst there could be disappointment and frustration that York weren’t able to capitalise on their recent form, Applegarth isn’t focusing on the negative implications of their most recent defeat – believing it gives his team an opportunity to respond in the perfect manner against Huddersfield Giants on Saturday (3pm).
“It’s all we can do,” Applegarth insisted in this week's press conference. “It would be pretty naïve of me to tell you that in our first year of Super League, there wasn’t going to be setbacks.
“In a way, it’s important that you do get these setbacks because you need a test of character, and that’s not just in rugby league, but also in life.
“I don’t think it’ll do us as a club any harm, us as a team any harm and the individuals in the team any harm.
“You need to deal with a bit of adversity in your life to learn about who you are as a person, and who you are as a team.
“I think any successful team or individual in life, they’ve overcome adversity.
“We’re going through some great lessons now, we’re riding that wave and trying to keep level-headed about it all.
“Hopefully over the next few years, we can look back on this time and say it served a purpose.”
Whilst Applegarth’s job has been about producing good performances on the pitch, there has been a lot of talk off of the pitch about the future of the Betfred Super League.
The Knights are early into their journey as a top flight club, after winning promotion at the end of 2025, and have performed valiantly despite financial and funding constraints.
With August approaching, conversations have begun about what the 2027 Super League might look like, with London Broncos hunting down a spot to join the top flight.
That would mean that one of the 14 Super League teams may have to drop into the Betfred Championship – with Applegarth hoping common sense prevails and that the Knights aren’t considered in that scenario.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve not got a clue how it works,” Applegarth admitted.
“I remember seeing the grading criteria when it first came out, I was in a different role then so obviously I had criteria that I had to match up to.
“From my point of view, I’d say that us and Toulouse, definitely coming up [should stay up].
“I was under the pretence that we’d get our funding this year, then we’d be able to build on what we’re doing this year.
“Both clubs have, in my opinion, gone above and beyond.
“You throw Bradford into that mix too as new to the league, they are obviously doing exactly the same as us and Toulouse, on full funding, but still doing the same.
“To say that on four week’s notice we’ve turned a part-time team into a full-time team and we’ve made great strides on and off of the field, it would make no sense to [relegate the Knights].
“Naturally, I’m going to have a bias towards York, I’d just like to think that we’ve got objective enough and smart enough people making these decisions that for the sport to grow, you can’t just throw someone up for a year then throw them back out.
“It makes absolutely zero sense.
“Do I think it’s perfect? No, but I also think there is loads of stuff that we’re doing right and that we can grow on.
“I think rugby league in York is an area ready to thrive.”
Share