YORK Knights will need to be ‘at their best’ to get a positive result against Leigh Leopards this Friday, said head coach Mark Applegarth.
The Knights are back in action for their 22nd match of the Betfred Super League season, travelling to Leigh’s Progress With Unity Stadium in search of an eighth win of the campaign.
After York’s stunning 34-32 victory over St Helens last weekend, Applegarth’s side have confidence, winning four of their last six matches in the Super League.
But Applegarth was quick to caution his players to be wary of the threats Leigh pose, positioned in sixth, with the Knights head coach even tipping the Leopards to be Grand Final contenders.
“I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into Leigh, who I think are a fantastic team,” Applegarth said in his pre-match press conference.
“Lammy [Adrian Lam, Leigh head coach] has done a cracking job there and I think they will be right up there come the end of the season.
“We know we’ll have to be at our best to get anything out of the game.
“They are a very good team, they’ll definitely be right up there as Grand Final contenders, I don’t think anyone would bat an eyelid if they were in the Grand Final and competing for the prize.
“I said at the start of the year when we played them, they’d be right up there once they got a few bodies back.
“They’ve got some great strike throughout the team, they are very well-coached and they weren’t far off last week at all.
“It was just a few moments in that game that ultimately cost them against Wigan.
“If you take them out of it, I think they went toe-to-toe there.
“We know we have to be at our best, they’ve got strike throughout the team and we’re looking forward to locking horns with Leigh.
“A really high quality team, and a good test for us.”
York went close when hosting Leigh at the LNER Community Stadium last April, losing 18-6 after taking the Leopards into half-time at six-apiece.
Not much separated the two teams earlier this year, but fast forwarding to early August, Applegarth highlighted key areas of the Leigh team that he feels pose danger.
He reflected: “It was a few months ago now, so both teams have kind of moved on from there.
“We know what Leigh are about, they’ve got some fantastic players, a great balance throughout the team, some experienced middles, some great young middles, youth on the edges.
“Umyla Hanley is someone I coached with England, he’s a fantastic British centre, one of the best.
“You look at their half-back pairing, that’s not too bad, is it?
“Then one of the best nines in the comp.
“I think that [Edwin] Ipape will be back, they’ve got everything to play for and we want to set the standards for ourselves.
“It should be a good game.”
Unfortunately for the Knights, their own preparations for this Friday’s match have been hindered by a fresh injury to the camp.
New signing Matty English hasn’t even pulled the York shirt on since signing on loan – and won’t do so for the rest of the year.
The Huddersfield Giants loanee has suffered an unfortunate training setback, with Applegarth revealing: “It’s not a good one unfortunately.
“We had a few concerns over it, but it’s looking like an ACL injury there.
“I’m gutted for Matty, he trained fully at the start of the week and unfortunately, with no one around him, his knee just went on him.
“I feel for him, but we’ll get Matty right, make sure he’s looked after.
“What a boost it will be when we do get Matty in a York shirt.
“When you sign a loan agreement until the end of the year, the responsibility to look after the player is with whoever the player gets the injury with.
“We’re grateful that Huddersfield let us have Matty until the end of the year, and we’ll do the right thing by Matty, the right thing by us as a club.
“We’ll be taking care of Matty and making sure he’s alright for sure.
“He won’t be back before the end of the year, the main thing is that mentally, we get Matty right.
“It’s a real kick in the teeth for Matty, coming on loan to a new club and suffering an injury like that.
“We won’t be shortsighted to get rid, we’ll invest time into Matty.
“We signed him for the person that he is, as much as the player.”
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