YORK City Knights have released packman Dave Petersen.

The loose-forward or hooker began the 2019 season in the Knights team but has not featured since starting at the back of the pack in the defeat in Toulouse in late April.

In all he made seven appearances for the club, two off the bench, plus an outing on dual-registration with Coventry Bears in League One. He scored one try for York, and one in that game for the Bears.

Knights head coach James Ford said: “He was not featuring as often as he wanted to and that was not really going to change.

“We had an honest chat as always. Dave, like any player, wanted to be integral to what he perceived to be the top 13.

“He needed to improve in a couple of areas to be in there and he worked really hard at that. I really liked his character and his attitude towards hard work but it was not going to happen that quickly for him and he decided to invest his energies in other areas."

Hull-born Petersen, 27, started his career at Hull KR, captaining their academy team, making four Super League appearances and having a stint at Workington Town on a dual-registration basis.

He left the Robins to join Queensland-based Mackay Cutters and played Down Under for two years.

Despite signing for Bradford in 2015, Petersen did not play a game at Odsal before switching to League One Oxford and then Championship club Sheffield Eagles.

In 2016 he played for Batley Bulldogs in the Championship, while also having a try-laden spell in the American game in Boston.

He joined York on trial in pre-season and won a contract for 2019.

It is unclear if he will now join another team or concentrate on work outside of rugby league.

Ford added: “We appreciate his efforts. Everyone thought highly of him, and we did not want to stand in his way.”