York Knights v Hull FC: Mark Applegarth desperate to avoid 'idiotic' Super League scenario

Ten rounds from the end of their debut campaign, they sit six points clear of Huddersfield Giants after a dominant performance against the competition's bottom side at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Under the old system, those points would have been worth their weight in gold. In the IMG era, however, the fight to secure their place in Super League extends far beyond the league table.

Any prospect of a move to 15 teams has been shot down by RL Commercial managing director Rhodri Jones, leaving York vulnerable as the club ranked 14th last year. With London Broncos pushing hard for promotion, there is little margin for error.

A club and a region heralded as a vibrant addition to Super League now face the challenge of proving they deserve the time to fulfil that potential.

Mark Applegarth believes York have earned the opportunity to continue their development after a challenging introduction to the top level.

"I'd like to think that we're not short-sighted to go 12 months and bang," said Applegarth. "I think any new team, so you can class some others in there too, it would be idiotic not to give it time to grow.

"All I can do is control what I can, which is coaching the team. The players will continue playing how they are. I know there's probably some talk behind the scenes to get all that finalised as soon as possible.

"We always knew this year was going to be a building year. Coming up, we had four weeks' notice and half the funding. I think, bang for your buck, we've put together a real good squad. It's great to give some lads some opportunity to see who can be on this journey with us.

"At the same time, I still think there's loads more to come from York. We've got to grow it. It's a great area to grow rugby league in. All the ingredients are there with the stadium, the pathway's growing again.

"Once our maiden year in Super League is over and done with, we can kind of build on that – but what happens is out of my control."

Thursday's home clash with Hull FC offers York their latest chance to strengthen their on-field case for a long-term place in Super League.

The Knights are suddenly level on points with Hull FC after ending their wait for back-to-back wins, giving them the opportunity to leapfrog one of the competition's established clubs and make another statement.

"We're definitely getting back to the characteristics we want to be known for," added Applegarth.

"I still think there are patches in our game we need to sharpen up on but that's naturally going to be an ongoing process over this season and next.

"We're definitely making strides in the right direction. We won't be getting carried away either. We're nowhere near where we want to be so we'll keep chasing consistency in our performance.

"We've got a massive opportunity on Thursday to have a straight shootout with a team. Whoever wins gets two points on the other side."

That Hull find themselves level on points with all three promoted clubs underlines how far they have slipped since last season's play-off push.

The Airlie Birds called time on John Cartwright's tenure early but have won just twice since his exit in April.

Andy Last's side head to the LNER Community Stadium on the back of a derby defeat to Hull KR on Merseyside.

"We know they'll be expecting a response on Thursday night," said Applegarth. "We're expecting the best version of FC and will be prepared for that.

"But 80 or 90 per cent of our focus tends to be on ourselves and making sure we're happy with the brand we're serving up. We need to be a little bit more ruthless and clinical when we get teams in certain spots. Likewise, we need to show a bit more resilience."

Hull's place in Super League for 2027 appears secure as one of the competition's grade A clubs. However, the desire for two points this week is just as strong in Last's squad.

"It's really important," said Last. "Every game is important for us.

"The two points are so important for us as a club, as a team and me as the acting head coach.

"We want to try and finish the season as strong as possible. What we don't want to do is finish the season in a bit of a slump."

Hull earned credit for their performances in defeat against Wigan Warriors and Hull KR.

Last knows only a repeat showing will do this week.

"I can't knock the lads' endeavour and effort," he said.

"Our focus is on making sure we turn up with the right attitude against York. They put in a strong performance and scored plenty of points last week against Huddersfield and were very, very gritty against Castleford the week before.

"They're going to be confident after getting back-to-back wins. It's at their place where they've had some good performances and results. They've got some talented players and we'll need to be at our best to beat them."