YORK City Knights have boosted their forward power by snapping up Richard Wilson from Hull Kingston Rovers.

The 29-year-old front-rower signed just in time to be available for tomorrow's home clash against Hunslet Hawks at Huntington Stadium, and coach Richard Agar - who sees Wilson as a natural replacement for retired legend Rich Hayes - was likely to include him in the 17.

The former Hull star, who has played in the bulk of Rovers' games this season before losing his place through illness, has signed initially on a month's loan with a view to making the move permanent.

The Evening Press believes Hull-based Wilson had been a Knights target in pre-season, and Agar said: "He wanted to chance his arm there but it's probably not been going quite as well over there as he would have liked.

"He will come for a month and we'll see if he likes the place and at the same time we can have a look at him as well. Hopefully after a month if we've both enjoyed it we might take it further."

He added: "He's a very solid player who plays for long periods of time, so we can play him in a similar style to Rich Hayes. He's a go-forward, 80-minute player and is very experienced at this level."

Updated: 10:27 Saturday, April 17, 2004