BOSS James Ford reckoned a number of his York City Knights players had "done themselves favours" despite their defeat to Bradford Bulls.

The Knights, fielding a weakened team with half a dozen first-teamers on the sidelines, lost 20-12 in their first outing of pre-season.

But Ford was happy with their work ethic and with the way they fought back from 20-0 down at half-time.

“We left a number of senior players out. We wanted to see how some inexperienced players handled it," the head coach reasoned.

“We will learn a lot from that and be better for it."

The game had been dubbed the "Grand Final that never happened" - York having won automatic promotion to the Championship as League One champions, with Bradford following them up via the play-offs. But both coaches treated it purely as a warm-up match, with Bulls boss John Kear also fielding an under-strength line-up.

Said Ford: “We’re disappointed not to win – you want to win every game you’re involved in, especially against Bradford at Odsal.

“But I thought the performance was credible and some individuals have done themselves lots of favours in terms of pecking orders.

“Both sides were tested by the conditions. It was wet and cold. Skill and execution were probably not at the levels you’d want them to be in mid-season, but the contact element was good. The players ran hard and tackled hard.

“I’m pleased with the majority of the performance.

“There was clearly a lot of effort and I want to commend my players for that. To go out there with that much energy on the day after Christmas Day was pleasing.

“The (Bradford) tries were defendable. I’m confident that if we had done more Bradford-specific training, we would have defended them.”

The Knights were without skipper Tim Spears, fellow veterans Graeme Horne, Sam Scott and Ben Cockayne, and livewire hooker Harry Carter. Mike Kelly was also a late withdrawal.

There were York bows for marquee signing Liam Salter, Jack Teanby, Marcus Stock, Jack Blagbrough, Jason Bass, Kevin Brown, Dave Petersen and Reece Rushworth.

Prop Teanby was probably the pick of the newcomers in the first half while threequarter Bass looked lively in the back line in the second.

“We were considerable better in the second half," reckoned Ford.

“There were lots of changes to the side and lots of inexperienced players out there. That was intentional. At 20-0 down, their character got tested and they found ways to fight a way back into the game.

“We created a number of half-chances and, as we continue our preparations, I would expect us to take them.

“There were some really committed performances. We were strong in contact and worked hard. As our combinations get more cohesive, we will get better.

“Credit to both sets of players, and the supporters as well for turning out in numbers. It was a good Boxing Day’s entertainment.”

Joe Porter was withdrawn with a knee injury and, while early indications are that it is not serious, it will be assessed this week.

His brother, Rushworth, who is on trial, had his second-half bow curtailed by a head cut.

Fellow trialist Petersen had a run at both hooker and loose-forward.

Ford said of the latter: “I thought he was good. He worked really hard, played in two different positions and had a positive impact on the game.”

He added: “All in all, I’m pleased. It was the day after Christmas Day. They’ve worked really hard in challenging conditions. Both sets of players deserve a pat on the back.”