York Knights will not be making any more signings in 2026 but they could have a key man returning from injury next week.
Returning bodies will be welcome for head coach Mark Applegarth, whose side have struggled in recent weeks with the Knights winning just one game in their last twelve though Saturday’s 72-20 loss to Wigan Warriors was the worst of the lot.
Trailing 44-0 at half-time after a near-perfect 40 minutes from Wigan, Applegarth admitted that it was far from a calm and collected half-time team talk.
Speaking in his post-match presser, uploaded to the club’s YouTube channel, Applegarth adnitted: “I wouldn’t say I’d lost the plot, that’s far from it, but I was definitely hurting as I know everyone in that room when we needed a response.
“Sometimes players need to see that, that hurt, to get a response. I think we got those messages across.”
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York Knights set for injury boost
After that half-time team talk, full-back Toa Mata’afa did not return and when asked, Applegarth confirmed that whilst there was an injury concern, the decision was more performance-related.
He said: “Toa’s been, obviously, carrying a bit of a knee bump and I thought Wigan had done their own work on that. He was struggling to get to a few of them kicks.
“It wasn’t just Toa by the way but with the pendulum, obviously, your fall back and your wingers have a massive say in that and I just thought it was the right thing to do for the person and for the team.
“I appreciate Toa’s been playing a bit sore for a few weeks and I just thought with how ruthless Wigan were, I thought Jonny Bennison had been better and then moving Dave (Nofoaluma) there so that we had some lads that were 100% fit out there, not carrying someone that were at 90% fit.”
With players either under-performing or not fully fit, Applegarth was asked about possible recruitment and injury returnees.
He confirmed: “There’ll be no more players in for this year, as far as I know. What we’ve got is what we’ve got. That’s my understanding at this moment in time.
“I think we’ve got Paul McShane, he should be available next week. Jesse Dee’s training fully, but he’s obviously on a forced stand-down with the head protocols. He’s got two concussions in two weeks, so he’s got a mandatory eight-week sit-down.
“I think the week after Magic, Bish (Ben Jones-Bishop) should be about. Getting them sort of lads back will definitely help with the leadership, not just the playing ability.”
