CONNOR ROBINSON reckons he is a better player now compared to his time at Halifax - after being “pulled into line” by the older players at York City Knights.

The scrum-half moved from the Shay to the Minster city in June 2017 and, following a relatively inconsistent first few months, he went on to have a stellar 2018, smashing Danny Brough’s goals and points in a season records for York and being named the League One Player of the Year as the Knights beat Bradford Bulls to the title.

James Ford’s team have continued that form in the Championship, too, sitting pretty in third still, despite having last weekend’s match at Rochdale controversially called off.

On Sunday they face a Halifax outfit who likewise have four wins - and who were one of the standout teams in this tier last year. And while Robinson is under no illusions that he and his side face another big test of their credentials against some old mates, he is determined to continue on an upward trajectory.

“It will be nice to see a few old faces but I’m trying not to get caught up in the ‘old team’ thing,” said the 24-year-old former Hull KR junior, who played 33 times for Fax between 2015 and 2017.

“I’ve been at York two years now so it’s been a while. You can’t get drawn into that as it takes over your focus more than playing and trying to get the win.

“We had a good session on Tuesday. We’re just trying to build. If you have a good week, you have an advantage on a Sunday.

“We’ve had a good start (to the season) against some big teams. Against Leigh in particular we got stuck in and we will look to do that again and play better. We’ll work as hard as we can and play as well as we can and see where that takes us.”

Asked if he was a better player now compared to his days at the Shay, he said: “Yes, I think through more game time, trying to learn, the time to build relationships and being in and around the team.

“I’m more mature now and have been pulled into line a bit by a few of the older players here.

“I probably used to think I was better than I was. Reality gets you and you learn things, and I think that shows.”

On his form this term, the playmaker said: "I'm happy I've carried on my form from last year but it's about playing to a consistent level every week now. There's room for improvement and I need to get better every week.

"I'm aware in my position if I have a bad game it affects the team."

He added: "It's been a good start for us. We're not setting any targets or anything. We're just trying to be the best we can be each week, be consistent and improve every week.

"If you start to set goals after you've gone up a league, you're setting yourself up to fail. That's how I see it anyway. It's about being consistent and plugging away.

"We're happy with where we are but there's always room for improvement. That's one of the things about us as a group - we're happy with how we've started but we're not happy to rest on our laurels."

Robinson has also hailed the team ethic in the squad, not least when it comes to defensive efforts making up for any mistakes in possession.

"We're a good group. It was a good group last year and I think it's an even tighter group this year," he said.

"If something goes wrong there are people around you to put it right.

"James Ford doesn't want us to not play. We're a pretty expansive team. If you make an error, you have to defend the error and go again.

"The attitude was good last year and is again this year - it has to be. We know we can't afford to have that little drop-off in intensity or concentration or have a rest as you get caught out."