COACH Mick Cook reckons his York City Knights side will have to be on form to overcome the banana skin Powergen Challenge Cup third round tie at Elland.

The Halifax-based amateurs are outsiders for the Pennine League championship, one of the strongest divisions outside the flagship BARLA league, the National Conference.

The semi-professional Knights will nevertheless be big favourites but Cook said he would not be taking them lightly. "We will prepare as we would for any other team," he said.

"We don't know a lot about them but the history of the Challenge Cup shows the amateur teams can come out on top sometimes so we need to approach it with the right attitude and hopefully get through to the next round."

It has not yet been confirmed whether Elland will be able to stage the match at their little Rochdale Road ground. The tie will be played on the weekend of March 12/13, full details yet to be announced.

Meanwhile returning hero Simon Friend has declared the warmth of York folk helped convince him to come back to the Minster city.

As reported by the Press yesterday, the Aussie will return to Huntington Stadium next month.

He said: "Leaving home again has been a really hard decision but York is such a great place and the people are so friendly that it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

"Obviously the fans were another factor. As I said last season, they are second to none and the support they give is unlike anything I have seen previously."

Friend, who captained Canberra Raiders reserves before joining the Knights last season, is excited at the prospect of working with new coach Cook and rejoining his old team-mates: "I'm looking forward to playing under Mick Cook and the rest of the coaching staff because I've heard good things and knowing that most of the boys are still there, it should be good."

Challenge Cup draw

The draw for the third round of rugby league's Powergen Challenge Cup is:

Waterhead v Sheffield Eagles, Doncaster v Stanningley, Haydock v Hunslet, London Skolars v Pia, Wath Brow Hornets v Dewsbury, Rochdale v Illingworth, Barrow v East Hull, Oldham St Annes v Whitehaven, Siddal v Hull KR, Castleford Lock Lane v Halifax, Blackpool v Toulouse, Workington v Wigan St Judes, Sharlston v Oldham, Castleford v Hull Dockers, Elland v York City KNIGHTS, Gateshead v Union Treiziste Catalane (UTC), Keighley v Strela Kazan, Featherstone v Thornhill, Swinton v Locomotiv Moscow, Batley v St Gaudens.

Ties to be played on the weekend of March 12-13.

Updated: 10:31 Thursday, February 24, 2005