2022 York City Knights season

Rugby league team season

York City Knights 2022 season
2022 RFL Championship Rank6th
Play-off resultlost in Semi-final
Challenge Cup5th round
Team information
ChairmanClint Goodchild
Head CoachJames Ford
StadiumYork Community Stadium
← 2021 List of seasons 2023 →

In the 2022 rugby league season York City Knights competed in the 2022 RFL Championship and the 2022 Challenge Cup. At the start of the season the club was taken over by Clint Goodchild who became the new chairman. York had a strong first half of the season which included a run of seven wins in the league that helped them finish in sixth place to qualify for the play-offs despite winning only five of their final 11 games. They lost in the semi-finals to Leigh Centurions who earlier in the season inflicted a club record 100–0 defeat on York. In the Challenge Cup York reached the fifth round. It was the final season that the team played as York City Knights after which the club was renamed York RLFC and the team became the Knights.

Season review

Pre-season

In November 2021, James Ford signed a new contract extending his contract as head coach until the end of the 2024 season.[1] Brett Delaney was appointed as assistant coach, but left in July to join Hull KR.[2][3] Several players retired at the end of the 2021 season including Tim Spears, who had been at York since the 2017 season,[4] and the pre-season saw numerous player transfers followed by the departure of Jon Flatman as chairman when the club came under the new ownership of Clint Goodchild in January 2022.[5][6][7]

2022 Season

York began the season on 31 January with a Monday night fixture against Featherstone Rovers in which York lost 30–12.[8] In February, York won against Dewsbury Rams[9] and Batley Bulldogs[10] before losing to Leigh Centurions,[11] Jack Logan, who had signed at the start of the season, announced his retirement from the game,[12] and York defeated Newcastle Thunder 42–13 in the fourth round of the Challenge Cup.[13] At the start of March, York moved to fifth in the league with a 26–24 win over London Broncos,[14] but were knocked out of the Challenge Cup by Whitehaven a week later.[15][16] However, the women's team continued their Challenge Cup campaign with a double-header played with York's next league game; a 32–6 win over Widnes Vikings in which Levi Edwards made his debut for York and scored his first try for the club.[17][18] His second came on 3 April as York won 44–18 away to Workington Town in what was also the final game for Kristian Brining who announced his retirement a few weeks later.[19][20]

York recorded home wins over Newcastle[21] and Whitehaven in April, and started May by defeating Barrow Raiders[22] and winning 20–6 at Bradford Bulls. The run of seven successive league wins, which had taken York up to third in the table, was ended the following week with a 40–24 loss to Halifax Panthers.[23][24] New signing Bailey Antrobus made his debut in the game and scored his first try for York the following week in a 34–14 win at Sheffield Eagles.[25][26] York continued to be successful throughout June with a closely fought 36–34 victory over London,[27] followed by away wins at Widnes and Whitehaven. The Whitehaven game was the first ever victory for the City Knights at the Recreation Ground and the first by a York team since 1992.[15][28][29] This run of four wins was followed by matches against Barrow, Halifax, Batley and Featherstone, all of whom finished above York in the league table. At the end of July, York defeated Newcastle at the Championship Summer Bash to end a run of four losses,[30][31] but three weeks later suffered a club record 100–4 loss at Leigh.[32] A run of three wins at the end of the season, including a 74–12 victory over Workington meant that York finished their Championship campaign in sixth place.[5][33][34]

In the play-offs, York won 26–24 at Halifax to reach the semi-finals,[35] where their season was ended by a 70–10 loss to Leigh.[36] At the Championship Awards York's AJ Towse was a nominee for the Young Player of the Year.[37]

Post-season

In October 2022, James Ford resigned from his role as head coach to become assistant coach at Wakefield Trinity.[38][39] On 14 October it was announced that the club had been renamed York RLFC and that the men's team would be rebranded as the Knights.[40]

Results

Pre-season friendlies

W Win L Loss

Date Versus H/A Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report
Pre-season results
7 January Midlands Hurricanes H York Community Stadium W 46–6 [41][42]
16 January Castleford Tigers H York Community Stadium L 10–32 Oakes, Marsh ? [41][43]

Championship

League table

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Leigh Centurions 27 26 0 1 1306 208 +1098 52 Championship Leaders' Shield & advance to play-off semi-final
2 Featherstone Rovers 27 23 1 3 1060 468 +592 47 Advance to play-off semi-final
3 Halifax Panthers 27 20 0 7 837 442 +395 40 Advance to play-off eliminators
4 Barrow Raiders 27 18 1 8 757 587 +170 37
5 Batley Bulldogs 27 17 2 8 738 551 +187 36
6 York City Knights 27 18 0 9 677 596 +81 36
7 Sheffield Eagles 27 12 0 15 701 660 +41 24
8 Widnes Vikings 27 12 0 15 567 679 −112 24
9 Bradford Bulls 27 11 0 16 523 677 −154 22
10 Whitehaven 27 9 1 17 488 854 −366 19
11 London Broncos 27 8 1 18 548 740 −192 17
12 Newcastle Thunder 27 7 1 19 559 877 −318 15
13 Dewsbury Rams 27 3 1 23 385 964 −579 7 Relegated to League 1
14 Workington Town 27 1 0 26 296 1139 −843 2
Source: [1]

Championship results

W Win D Draw L Loss

Date Round Versus H/A Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report
Championship results
31 January 1 Featherstone Rovers H York Community Stadium L 12–30 Glover, Jubb Ellis (2) 3,602[44] RFL
6 February 2 Dewsbury Rams H York Community Stadium W 30–2 Marsh, Ellis, Davis, O'Hagan, Clarkson Ellis (5) RFL
13 February 3 Batley Bulldogs A Mount Pleasant W 10–4 Michael, Oakes Ellis RFL
20 February 4 Leigh Centurions H York Community Stadium L 4–40 Jubb RFL
6 March 5 London Broncos A Plough Lane W 26–24 Oakes, Michael, Harris, Clarkson, Glover Ellis (3) RFL
20 March 6 Widnes Vikings H York Community Stadium W 32–6 Marsh (2), O'Hagan, Ward, Stock, Edwards Ellis (2), Harris (2) RFL
3 April 7 Workington Town A Derwent Park W 44–18 Harris (2), Thompson, Brown, Edwards, Glover (2), Jubb Harris (6) RFL
16 April 8 Newcastle Thunder H York Community Stadium W 38–6 Thompson, Dixon, Glover, Towse (2), Matongo, Brown Harris (5) RFL
24 April 9 Whitehaven H York Community Stadium W 30–12 O'Hagan, Edwards, Harris (2), Glover Harris (5) RFL
2 May 10 Barrow Raiders A Craven Park W 30–18 Brown, Oakes, Marsh, Thompson, Harris Harris (4) RFL
15 May 11 Bradford Bulls A Odsal Stadium W 20–6 Clarkson, Jubb, O'Hagan, Kirmond Ellis (2) RFL
22 May 12 Halifax Panthers H York Community Stadium L 24–40 Harris (2), Teanby, Marsh Ellis (4) RFL
2 June 13 Sheffield Eagles A Olympic Legacy Park W 34–14 Glover, Antrobus, Dixon, Pauli, Stock (2) Harris (5) RFL
5 June 14 London Broncos H York Community Stadium W 36–34 Harris (2), Thompson, Marsh, Towse (2) Ellis (6) RFL
12 June 15 Widnes Vikings A DCBL Stadium W 16–14 Brown (2), Marsh Ellis (2) RFL
26 June 16 Whitehaven A Recreation Ground W 40–16 Thompson, Ellis, Towse (2), Antrobus, Brown, O'Hagan Ellis (5), Harris RFL
3 July 17 Barrow Raiders H York Community Stadium L 16–24 Brown, Pauli, Glover Ellis, Harris RFL
11 July 18 Halifax Panthers A The Shay L 10–36 Clarkson, Jubb Harris RFL
18 July 19 Batley Bulldogs H York Community Stadium L 16–32 Harris, Towse, Kirmond Harris (2) RFL
24 July 20 Featherstone Rovers A Post Office Road L 22–30 Towse, Brown, Ward, O'Hagan Glover, Harris (2) RFL
31 July 21 Newcastle Thunder N Headingley Stadium W 27–18 Brown (2), Marsh, Glover, Kirmond Harris (3) RFL
7 August 22 Dewsbury Rams A Crown Flatt W 22–10 Harris, Hingano, Marsh (2) Harris, Glover (2) RFL
15 August 23 Bradford Bulls H York Community Stadium L 16–20 Jubb, Marsh, Brown Glover (2) RFL
21 August 24 Leigh Centurions A Leigh Sports Village L 4–100 Brown 2,744[32] RFL
26 August 25 Sheffield Eagles H York Community Stadium W 20–12 Marsh, Antrobus, Harris, Glover Glover (2) RFL
3 September 26 Newcastle Thunder A Kingston Park W 24–18 Glover, O'Hagan, Brown, Inman Harris (3) RFL
18 September 27 Workington Town H York Community Stadium W 74–12 Michael, Harris (3), Kirmond, Brown (2), Glover (2), Porter, Inman, O'Hagan, Clarkson Harris (2), Glover (9) RFL

Play-offs

Date Round Versus H/A Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report
Play-off results
18 September Eliminators Halifax Panthers A The Shay W 26–24 Brown, Jubb, Harris, Edwards Glover (2) 1,850[35] RFL
25 September Semi-finals Leigh Centurions A Leigh Sports Village L 10–70 Marsh, Stock Harris 3,329[36] RFL
Team bracket
Eliminators Semi-finals Grand Final
1 Leigh Centurions 70
3 Halifax Panthers 24 6 York City Knights 10
6 York City Knights 26 1 Leigh Centurions 44
5 Batley Bulldogs 12
2 Featherstone Rovers 28
4 Barrow Raiders 8 5 Batley Bulldogs 32
5 Batley Bulldogs 18
Source:Rugby League Project

Challenge Cup

W Win L Loss

Date Round Versus H/A Venue Result Score Tries Goals Attendance Report
Challenge Cup results
27 February 4 Newcastle Thunder H York Community Stadium W 42–13 Ellis, Dixon, Marsh (2), Harris, Stock, Ward Ellis (7) 1,221[45] RFL
13 March 5 Whitehaven A Recreation Ground L 12–38 O'Hagan, Brown Harris (2) 798[15] RFL

Players

Squad

York City Knights 2022 Squad
First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

  • James Ford


Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)
Updated:
Source(s):
  • Rugby League Project
  • Love Rugby League
  • York City Knights


2022 transfers

Gains

List of players joining York
Player Club Contract Date
Joe Brown Bradford Bulls 1 Year September 2021[46]
Jamie Ellis Leigh Centurions 1 Year September 2022[47]
Liam Harris Halifax Panthers 1 Year October 2021[48]
Sam Davis London Broncos 1 Year October 2021[49]
Jacob Ogden London Broncos 2 Years October 2021[50]
Will Oakes Dewsbury Rams 1 Year October 2021[51]
Masi Matongo Hull F.C. 1 Year October 2021[52]
Pauli Pauli Salford Red Devils 1 Year October 2021[53]
Olly Butterworth Sheffield Eagles 1 Year October 2021[54]
Jack Logan Leigh Centurions 1 Year November 2021[55]
Ronan Michael Huddersfield Giants Season loan November 2021[56]
James Glover Sheffield Eagles 1 Year October 2021[41][57]
Jordan Thompson Leigh Centurions 1 Year October 2021[41][58]
Brad Ward Hull KR 2 Years January 2022[41][59]
Levi Edwards Leeds Rhinos Season loan March 2022[60]
Bailey Antrobus St. George Illawarra Dragons End of season May 2022[25]
Ata Hingano Leigh Centurions Loan to end of season July 2022[61]

Losses

List of players leaving York
Player Club Contract Date
James Green Retired July 2021[7][62]
Jordan Baldwinson Bradford Bulls 2 Year September 2021[63]
Ryan Atkins Retired September 2021[64]
Danny Washbrook Retired September 2021[65]
Tim Spears Retired September 2021[4]
Morgan Smith Featherstone Rovers 1 Year October 2021[66]
Sam Scott Bradford Bulls 1 Year October 2021[67]
Jason Bass Sheffield Eagles 1 Year November 2021[68]
Ben Jones-Bishop Sheffield Eagles 1 Year November 2021[69]
Kieran Dixon Leigh Centurions January 2022[70][71]
Jack Logan Retired February 2022[12]
Kristian Brining Retired April 2022[72]

Internationals

Several York players were selected for 2021 World Cup squads:

References

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