YORK Lokomotive ARLC will be playing only for pride when Rotherham Giants visit New Lane on Saturday (2pm) – but boss Paul McDermott says they should be a proud bunch.

The Lokos’ 40-20 defeat at Scarborough Pirates on Saturday – when they could only travel with 15 men – meant they cannot now reach the top-two play-off in the RL Conference Yorkshire east division.

But McDermott says the players have been a credit all term.

“The Lokos are a success this year as we now have a group of young men who know how to behave on and off the pitch, are willing to work hard and listen to improve themselves without moaning,” he said.

“I’m very disappointed we were unable to sustain the good form we had at the beginning of the season, but I feel we have just scratched the surface of what we can achieve, and everybody is looking forward to the last two games and finishing the season in style.”

The 40-20 scoreline did not reflect Saturday’s game, not least because the Lokos had only one recognised prop in the makeshift team, had a rugby league debutant on a two-man bench, and saw a number of players battle through injuries.

They took the lead as Arran Thompson shot between two defenders, Tom Storey goaling and adding a penalty, but the Pirates took command as some sloppy defence, good home play and sheer good fortune saw them run up 34 unanswered points in 20 shattering minutes.

York heads did not drop and they should have added to their tally as Tom Gargan fumbled a bullet pass from Luke Watling with the line in sight, while Nath Pincher was deemed held up when it seemed he had grounded the ball.

Scarborough made it 40-8 soon after the break but, rather than give in, the Lokos began to play some great rugby, and spent most of the half camped in home territory.

But for a few errors, great defence and bad luck, they would have scored much more than the 12 points they did accrue from tries by Storey and Matt Turner, plus two Storey conversions. Dave Oughton, again playing almost the full 80 minutes at prop, Turner, Storey, Watling, Thompson and man-of-the-match Zak Hardy all stood out.

McDermott added: “The home side were ruthless in that 20-minute period and we could have given the game up there and then. But these players have a real feeling for their club.

“I am extremely proud of the effort and skill we produced.”