Scott Rhodes

HE played in the last World Cup and now he would love to make it to the next.

And York City Knights' new captain Scott Rhodes knows that if he is to achieve that goal, it will mean he has done brilliantly for his home-town team throughout 2008.

His appearance for Scotland in the 2000 event - starting against Ireland and coming off the bench against Samoa - ranks as probably the highlight of his career to date.

Another contender is winning the National League Two title with the Knights in 2005. Another is being named club captain this year. But all that will be usurped if he can lead his club to promotion again and follow that with selection for the end-of-season World Cup in Australia.

"It would be nice, wouldn't it?" said the half-back.

"They phoned me up the year before last to see about playing (in the autumn internationals) but I was injured at the time.

"If I have a good season this year they might have another look at me - I don't know.

"It would certainly be an achievement. I'm just going to keep playing and doing my best for York. It's certainly an added incentive to do well. To go to Australia and play in the World Cup would be the highlight of my career.

"Playing in the last World Cup was probably my biggest achievement. To play with some of those players was pretty special.

"Winning the league was also great. But it's different to go to a World Cup and play with top players at the highest level."

He added: "Being named captain of York this year was a bit special to me as well.

"To captain your home-town club - I was really honoured that Paul March (Knights player-coach) asked me. Hopefully I can repay him by having a good season."

Rhodes began playing rugby league 20 years ago, as a seven-year-old York youngster.

"I went down training with local amateurs Punch Bowl when they had a junior set-up," explained the 27-year-old, who went to school at Kingsway Primary and later Queen Anne's Secondary.

"I had mates who went down training and they asked if I fancied going along, and I thought I might as well give it a go.

"Everything was done for fun at that age. I just enjoyed it and I seemed to get better, getting selected for Yorkshire and other representative sides, and it went from there."

He joined the Heworth club after Punch Bowl called it a day, and at under-15s level was snapped up by Leeds Rhinos.

He played in the famed academy at Headingley for three years and, although he did not make it into the Rhinos' first team, he did get to play in the top tier in 2000.

"I was in the first-team squad at Leeds but didn't make a Super League appearance. I went on loan to Hull and played twice in Super League - we beat Bradford but lost to Wigan at the JJB."

Playing at that level is another highlight, but it was immediately followed by a low-point. Leeds let him go, after which he stepped out of the full-time arena and down to National League level.

"It wasn't easy to take but you have to take it," he said. "I had offers to go back to Super League - London Broncos were interested - but it wasn't the right opportunity and I didn't really want to move to London."

Instead he joined Sheffield, recent winners of the Challenge Cup but reinvented following the Eagles' doomed merger with Huddersfield. He also went back to college and learned his trade as a bricklayer. He currently works around York for Willow Construction.

"I did well at Sheffield and really enjoyed my two-and-a-half years there," he said. "Mark Aston is a really good coach. He was a half-back as well and that pushed me on.

"However, the travelling got a bit much so I decided to come nearer home."

That change saw him initially join Dewsbury Rams for the start of the 2003 season, but within two months he was at Huntington Stadium.

The Knights had only begun playing that year following the 2002 demise of York Wasps, but Rhodes was only to happy to join the new crusade, and finally get to represent his home-town club.

He ventured: "It's a bit different. You've got more pride in your home-town team. I don't think there is anything better than playing in front of your home fans and people you know."

One of those fans is his dad, Arthur, who goes home and away. Arthur was born in Scotland, hence Rhodes' eligibility to represent the Saltire. Another is Rhodes' eight-year-old nephew, Henry Rollinson, who has also taken up the game with junior club York Acorn. "He's a good player - he could go far," said Rhodes.

Now York's longest-serving player, being the only survivor of the Knights' debut season, Rhodes has seen good and bad times at Huntington Stadium. There was the 2005 promotion to National League One, but then the 2006 relegation.

"It was a funny season," he said of 2006. "I thought we were good enough to stay up but we had a lot of injuries. That was a pretty low moment in my career."

He has also seen many players come and go. But which did he rate the best?

"That's a tough one," he said. "Trevor Krause has to be up there. Danny Brough, Damian Ball, Rich Hayes, Simon Friend there have been a lot of good player here. Peter Fox did really well and has gone on to better things. I couldn't really name one.

"The best player I've ever played with was probably Adrian Vowles, with Scotland. He was Man of Steel around that time. He was just unbelievable."

He added: "The best team I've been in at York was possibly the one under Richard Agar in 2004, with Damian Ball, Danny Seal, Rich Hayes, Rich Wilson, Lee Jackson and Broughy.

"We should have won the play-offs but that final against Halifax was really unlucky. It was not to be, but we managed to go up the following year. Hopefully we can go up again this year, and I think we've got a good chance."