Mark Applegarth keeps York Knights grounded as momentum builds
MARK APPLEGARTH believes York Knights have the wind behind them at last but insists this is no time to stand still.
York's debut campaign appeared to be on the verge of collapse after a 72-20 defeat to Wigan Warriors left the Super League newcomers with just one victory from 12 games.
However, the Knights have only grown in strength with three straight wins.
Thursday's hard-fought 20-16 victory over Hull FC completed the club's first top-flight double.
"We won't get too carried away, just like when we were losing six or seven games on the bounce," said Applegarth. "We didn't get too low then and definitely won't get ahead of ourselves now.
"We're coming into a tough game next week against Toulouse. We won't be going there without doing our due diligence.
"At the same time, we're glad that we've got some wind behind us."
Buoyed by securing back-to-back Super League wins for the first time, York made a confident start against Hull before losing control.
The Knights demonstrated their growing maturity after half-time, overturning a 16-8 deficit to leapfrog their visitors in the table.
"I'm really proud of the character we showed," said Applegarth.
"I was a bit filthy at half-time. I thought we invited Hull back into it. I felt we were in control up until that water break in the first half but we started dipping our toes in contact-wise and were a little bit flat with our intent.
"I challenged the lads to respond. We got off to the perfect start and showed loads of grit, desire and character when we were defending non-stop in our own half in the last 15 minutes.
"If someone asked me what York Knights were about, I wish I could bottle that feeling up and give them that."
While David Nofoaluma, Jon Bennison, Denive Balmforth and Nikau Williams scored the crucial tries, Applegarth felt the win was built on the leadership of Paul McShane and Paul Vaughan.
He also singled out on-loan Hull hooker Balmforth, who enjoyed a memorable evening against his parent club.
"I thought loads of people stood out for different reasons at different moments," added Applegarth.
"But you can't really look past Macca, just his leadership and experience. It's the same with Vaughany. I played him longer minutes than he normally plays and he was running on an empty tank in that last 10 minutes. He found a way to carry on going.
"I'm really proud that we've got those two representing York. They're so important to us.
"I was really happy for Denive coming up against his parent club. I know that game and that win meant something to him."