COACH Richard Agar says York City Knights will not seek a direct replacement for Danny Seal even though the back-rower has been forced into semi-retirement.

This latest departure comes hot on the heels of on-loan prop Ryan Benjefield's return to Hull, but, although Agar has already admitted he is on the lookout for a new front-rower, he still has several back-row options and no desperate need to sign a Seal substitute.

"We're looking to bolster the squad but not to bring in someone specifically to replace Danny Seal," said Agar, who endured more bad news yesterday as in-form winger Alex Godfrey pulled a hamstring during the LHF National League Two opening day win over Chorley, suffering a similar injury to prop Dan Briggs at Featherstone on Friday.

"It's actually a bad time to look for signings. We want to bring in the right calibre of players and at the moment there's not too many available. We will keep trying."

Seal, whose new work commitments hit his Arriva Trains Cup campaign, had been hoping to play a bigger part in the Knights league season after returning midway through March. But the long hours and distance travelling with his new job have taken toll.

Agar confirmed: "We've left the door open in case he changes his mind but he's unlikely to play much this season because of work commitments.

"He's a really fit kid but it's draining him and having a big impact on his life. He was really upset when he told us. He's a real honest kid and I knew how much it's hurt him to have to do this. We wish him all the best and thank him for the contribution he's already made for us."

As for yesterday's hard-fought 32-18 victory, Agar admitted it wasn't the best display by his team but was delighted to start the campaign with two points.

"It was probably an indication of how this season will go - a very tough competition," he said.

"The form-book would not have given Chorley much of a chance but they did some very smart things and proved a difficult team to beat.

"We hung in there. We went behind early in the second half, but came back and the interception try (scored by Danny Brough after 57 minutes) changed the nature of the game.

"At times we looked a bit jaded, which is quite understandable after the week we've had.

"They've got some big fellas and that took it out of us a bit... and we shouldn't underestimate what Friday (the win at Featherstone) took out of the boys.

"But no discredit to Chorley. We're not looking for excuses and we're very happy with a win.

"We worked hard and it was a game we ground out, and we won with a bit of daylight, which is pleasing considering everybody is saying we have not played as well as we can."

Updated: 10:09 Tuesday, April 13, 2004