MARK Applegarth acknowledged that whilst a 22-14 defeat to Leigh Leopards was a frustrating night for his team, there were valuable lessons that York Knights could take forward with them.
The Knights suffered a defeat at play-off chasing Leigh in their latest Betfred Super League challenge, but showed real character despite coming away empty-handed.
York head coach Applegarth highlighted the positives and the negatives of his Knights team’s performance on a night that ended in defeat, and called for his players to learn from elements of the Leigh performance when travelling to Warrington Wolves next week.
“We just said in there that it was a frustrating night,” Applegarth said in his post-match press conference.
“I thought we played tough, I thought we played very tough, but ultimately I thought we lacked a bit of game smarts, a bit of game management.
“You’re inviting a team with such quality as Leigh that much pressure, then you’re not nailing your blows back – something is going to give.
“That start of the second-half probably cost us to be honest, Leigh rolled us four repeat sets, we then get the ball back and are a little bit loose on that yardage set.
“We didn’t get the kick away and invited them back with easy field position, eventually something is going to give.
“There’s a great lesson for us there, the lads are really frustrated and I thought Leigh were there for the taking today.
“I don’t think Leigh were at their best in certain aspects, but it’s the sign of a good team that they found a way to win.
“How they managed that game and kept that pressure on us is exactly what we wanted to do with them.
“A great lesson for us, but also fair play to Leigh, because I thought that they played really well in that sense.”
Applegarth now wants his players to take that great lesson and put it into practice moving forward.
He called for his Knights squad to ‘endure’ the tough times to enjoy the good in games, using Leigh as an example, and praising certain players in their squad.
He continued: “When you are playing teams that are going to be competing at the right end of the table at the end of the year, they have got a certain element of composure about their game.
“When Leigh felt like they weren’t at their best, they just went back to their game management, completing well, building pressure and waiting for us to fatigue.
“There’s a great lesson there for us, supplement that with some of the players that they’ve got in there – Lachy Lam is an ex-Man of Steel half.
“His tempo, how he played, he caused us all sorts of problems in defence.
“They’ve got some cracking players in that forward pack, and then some strike in the eight’s.
“I was really proud of how we went about our business, but also really frustrated, because I know that there is more in us.
“I think we’ve got the core of what we need to be about, we’ve got some guts about us, some toughness about us, we’ve got some great play about us at the right times.
“We’ve just got to endure a little bit more and to have the composure at the back of it.
“Frustrated, you never like losing, but at the same time I can understand it.
“I just hope we do learn from it and we can use this lesson moving forward, because they are a quality team.”
On a night where York failed to pick up any welcome points, one player will have headed home with a smile on his face.
Jon Bennison had an outstanding performance to score a hat-trick, much to the delight of Applegarth: “I’ve got a lot of time for Jon, I love coaching him.
“He’s a very deep thinker, very articulate, he understands the game well and he’s got some great experience for such a young lad.
“I thought that the left edge looked threatening all night, Nik [Williams] and Jon are a great partnership, just as Nik and Dave [Nofoaluma] are.
“I think that Jon is a valuable addition to the squad and a great teammate, he played very well tonight.”
Asked about his team news, Applegarth gave an update on absent players.
He also revealed that Scott Galeano was removed from play at half-time due to a groin injury, with the club now awaiting news on the damage.
“It was just a little bit too soon [for David Nofoaluma],” Applegarth said, “he’s fully passed his protocol now, this [Friday] morning was his last session, so he’ll be fully back in contention.
“We should be pretty fortunate, Scotty went off with a groin injury at half-time.
“I don’t think that Bish [Ben Jones-Bishop] is too far off, it should be touch and go for whether he is in contention for Warrington as well.
“Liam Harris has had a bit of illness this week, but he’s back training now.
“There’s a few bodies back.”
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