York City Knights confirm permanent signature of Super League prop

York City Knights have announced the signing of prop forward Ronan Michael on a two-year deal.

The forward was on loan from Huddersfield Giants in 2022 and made 19 appearances, scoring three tries for the Knights, with the Championship club making the move permanent for the 2023 season.

The 22-year-old has also had spells at Canberra Raiders, Whitehaven and Swinton Lions but has found the most success at York which has earned him a call up to Ireland’s World Cup squad.

“Ronan is a very athletic individual who has a fantastic drive towards improving,” said York Head Coach, James Ford.

“He was always a player we thought would improve as he was exposed to more rugby towards the top end of the championship.”

Michael himself added: “I’m absolutely over the moon to be staying and committing my future to York City Knights. It’s been a great first year at the club.

“From the start, everyone was really welcoming and I think we’ve had a great season.”

York enjoyed a relatively successful season in 2022 finishing sixth in the Betfred Championship and upsetting Halifax in the play-off quarter-finals with a narrow 26-24 victory. Michael played in this game after missing a portion of the season due to injury.

“Fordy and everyone stuck by me through my injury and I really want to pay that back to everyone now after they’ve been around me throughout this year,” Michael continued.

“I picked up one of my career highlights with that win at Halifax.”

York crashed out of the play-offs with a disappointing loss to Super League bound Leigh Centurions but retaining key players such as Michaels they look set for another big push in 2023.

He concluded: “I love the place, I love the club and I think we’re going in the right direction to push for promotion.”