ASSISTANT-COACH Graeme Hallas was full of praise for 'a job well done' as York City Knights completed their first-ever National Two win with a 27-20 victory over Barrow Border Raiders.

A three-try second-half salvo saw the Knights overturn an 18-10 half-time deficit and emerge at last from a barren run that had seen them lose three and draw one of their opening four matches of the league campaign.

And former Great Britain tourist Hallas was delighted to have seen the Knights finally get off the mark.

"I'm a happy man," he told the Evening Press. "We came up here to do a job and we've done just that.

"We came up here on Saturday and have been very professional with the way we have conducted ourselves and it showed on the pitch in the result and the attitude of the players. It was a very professional performance.

"We said at half-time that there were three things we wanted to start controlling. One was the dummy half, two was the off-loads and three was something that hadn't happened in the first half and that was controlling the kicking game of (Barrow stand-off) Tane Manihera. If we could control those three we said we'd go on and win and we did.

"We controlled Manihera and we controlled their big set of lads - they are probably the biggest side we will come up against this season. With and without the wind at their backs we controlled them because we were prepared to put the effort in.

"I'm not going to stand here and say we have achieved all that we wanted to achieve because we were far from being perfect, but we have had two weeks of what has probably been our best preparation and it shows.

"We've come out of this game with a lot of credit, there are not many teams that will come here and win.

"We've come up and been very professional and now have something to build on."

The match saw reasons for Hallas to be happy and worried about the Knights front-row with the experienced ex-Leeds, Hull, Newcastle Knights and Great Britain hooker Lee Jackson return to the fray after suffering with sciatica, while player-coach and prop Paul Broadbent was helped from the field in the final five minutes.

Hallas said: "Lee is without a doubt a very professional player and a professional thinker. To have someone like that coming off the bench or even starting you will always get some benefit.

"Lee has done exceptionally well and that is no disrespect to Trevor Krause as he was outstanding out there as well.

"We don't know the full extent off what has happened to Paul. He has obviously limped off, but we haven't spoken to the doctors or the physio yet.

"However, he is in the changing room in good spirits."

Updated: 10:38 Monday, May 26, 2003