YORK City Knights will kick off their LHF Healthplan National League Two campaign with a home game against Swinton Lions on Easter Monday.

And that holiday home comfort will follow on from a cracking start to the season when the Knights head off to the Jungle home of Castleford Tigers - newly relegated from Super League - in the opening tie of the Northern Rail Cup, formerly the Arriva Trains Cup.

That tie will be played on Sunday, February 13 and will head six duels in the group stages of the NRC before the mouth-watering League Two opener against the Lions.

The exciting start to the season was hailed by Knights chief executive Steve Ferres.

He told the Evening Press: "I'm delighted we have got a home match first up.

"It should be a cracking match. Swinton could be the surprise package in the league. They have added a couple of Super League players to their squad. I think it will be very, very difficult to turn them over."

The last of the cup group games will be played on Good Friday with an evening kick-off at Hunslet Hawks (7.30pm).

After the Swinton clash, the Knights will go head-to-head with newly relegated Keighley Cougars at the former NL One side on April 10, two weeks before Dewsbury Rams drop in at Huntington Stadium to show whether or not their big close-season signings have transformed them into the promotion-contenders promised.

June will be the month of the long journey with trips to the division's extremes of London Skolars and Workington Town within two weeks of each other.

The National League Two campaign finishes off away to Sheffield Eagles - regarded as one of the principal dangers to the Knights' hopes of promotion - on September 9, which is a month ahead of the play-off final.

The Knights stormed their way to the play-off final last season only to be thwarted in their elevation dream at the last hurdle by Halifax.

This time around chief executive Ferres is anticipating a much closer-fought battle with the Knights expected to be locked in combat with several sides in the jostle for the play-off final on the weekend of October 8-9 next year.

He said: " I think it will be more competitive in 2005 than it was this year.

"I reckon, apart from ourselves, the teams to watch will be Dewsbury, Keighley, Dewsbury and Sheffield."

However, with season tickets sales reported to be about 20 per cent up on last year it already looks as though the Knights will be the best supported clubs in the division.

Team-building is also continuing apace at Hunslet whose second row forward Sean Ibbetson is reckoned to be a Knights target.

Updated: 10:42 Monday, December 06, 2004