YORK City Knights half-back Simon Brown is poised to start the Huntington Stadium exodus by joining Halifax, writes Peter Martini.

The Press understands that Fax, having lost out on Featherstone’s Liam Finn, have turned to Brown to fill their stand-off role following Paul Handforth’s switch to Keighley amid an end-of-season merry-go-round.

Prop Matt Nicholson is heading for Featherstone.

Neither Brown nor Nicholson had signed a new deal with York.

The senior players who have recently agreed terms for 2014 all had clauses in their contracts allowing them to leave should the Knights be relegated. The club are also allowed to offer reduced terms.

Negotiations with those players will take place over the next fortnight.

Head coach Gary Thornton said of Nicholson: “I don’t have anything but praise for him. He could have said he wasn’t fit to play following his long injury but he got himself fit quickly and wanted to help the team.

“I’m sorry to see him go. If we’d had him all season it might have been different.”