Wigan Warriors v York Knights: Mark Applegarth highlights mindset with 'no free hits' message
Promoted sides are often told to pick their battles.
In every sport, there are venues where expectation levels drop and simply being competitive is framed as success.
Some games are circled as opportunities, while others are quietly written off.
But that is not a mindset York Knights head coach Mark Applegarth is prepared to accept.
There are no free hits, not even away to Wigan Warriors.
"The pressure and expectation is on Wigan," acknowledged Applegarth. "You can't hide away from that.
"If you've been a dominant team and as good as Wigan have been over the last few years, that's part and parcel of it.
"The beauty for us is that we can go into the game with no expectation in terms of external noise.
"But saying it's a free hit would be a bit of a cop out. That's a bit of self-preservation.
"We've still got the expectation we put on ourselves. I expect us to go over to Wigan and give it everything we've got to try and get that victory, as I do every single week.
"It's definitely not a free hit on my part. You've got to set high standards for yourself if you want to accomplish anything in life."
That mentality has already driven the Super League newcomers to a famous victory over defending champions Hull KR and another notable one-point win on the road at Hull FC.
Written off as also-rans before a ball had been kicked in 2026, all three promoted sides claimed two wins in the opening four rounds.
The early results have shown that York, Bradford Bulls and Toulouse Olympique are far from certainties to prop up the table.
Given Bradford boss Kurt Haggerty declared pre-season that it would be a "pretty incredible achievement" to finish outside the bottom three, those sides have perhaps even surprised themselves.
But Applegarth is not in the business of reassessing expectations just a few matches in.
"We're very much taking each game as it comes," he added. "We know what we feel we can achieve internally.
"As cliché as it sounds, we just want to get better each week. Once we're happy with where we're at as a team, we'll start looking at the league table.
"We're not quite where we want to be as a team yet."
Like all good coaches, Applegarth is rarely satisfied.
York earned plaudits for the way they took the game to Warrington Wolves in their last Super League outing.
Yet despite scoring five tries and giving Sam Burgess' in-form team a scare, the Knights came out on the wrong side of the result.
Applegarth has quickly drummed it into his side that being 'happy losers' simply won't do.
"We've shown what we can do when we're expressing ourselves and playing how we want to play," he said.
"But that isn't just given to you, especially at Super League level. You've got to earn that right by setting a good platform and enjoying the grind of going set for set with a team and slowly nudging yourself up the field through the possession and territory battle.
"Our ends to sets can improve. We've been doing a lot of work to become more consistent in that area.
"The most pleasing thing for me is that it's the players who are driving this. They know where we want to be and we'll keep on working hard to get there.
"It's a great test for us on Thursday to be able to execute all that."
While Applegarth is working hard to instil standards and belief, a trip to Wigan remains one of the sternest tests in Super League – even without Jai Field or Bevan French in the home ranks.
The Warriors have responded to the loss of their title with four straight wins, scoring a competition-high 150 points while conceding just 38.
From what Applegarth has seen, their game has evolved.
"Wigan like to dominate territory and possession," he said. "They're probably the best team in the league at the moment in that sense.
"They've got some excellent players in their ranks. I know all the headlines are about Field, French and (Jake) Wardle but there are some cracking players there.
"I've got a lot of respect for how Wigan set up their club and the DNA they have. They've got a youth-first mentality – they back their youth. (Jack) Farrimond and co. definitely validate that.
"Wigan are also probably the best team in the league at the moment for transitions. You can't afford to have lapses in concentration against them.
"They've added a nice ad-lib style of rugby on the back of offloads. Throw in the traditional Wigan DNA of being methodical and hard-hitting in defence – we're going to have to be at our best.
"We know where we need to improve and are looking forward to the challenge."