MICK Cook's line-up for York City Knights' final friendly of pre-season is unlikely to indicate his plans for the big kick-off against Hull KR.

The Knights entertain Hull next Sunday and it was thought Cook might run with his chosen team to start the 2006 season to help increase their cohesion before the February 12 launch date at home to the Robins.

But he says his plan has always been to give every squad man at least two good run-outs over the three friendlies and, while he has some names in mind for the Hull KR game, most places are still up for grabs.

"I said we'd give everybody two out of the three games and some haven't played two yet," he explained.

"We haven't got the squad to rest everybody so some will play in all three, but I will look after them because we want to be pretty fresh for Hull KR.

"Some of the lads who had their first stints against Wakefield will have more game-time, like Mark Cain and Chris Spurr who hadn't played for a long while. I want to get them out there again and have another look."

Cook added: "There is another game for some players to work their way into the starting team for Hull KR.

"I'm starting to think who's going to be the best players for the job on present form but there are still a lot of places to be filled and nothing is set in stone."

Winger Craig Farrell is struggling with a back problem and is a doubt for the game, having also missed the Wakefield friendly last week with an unrelated neck injury.

That saw teenager Tom Dunmore make his debut and Cook said he would have no qualms about throwing him in again, while full-backs Lee Lingard or Matt Blaymire could also play on the wing.

Meanwhile, champion forward Lee Radford and star winger Nathan Blacklock are set to return from injury for Hull in next Sunday's friendly.

England international Radford, who helped Bradford Bulls to the crown last season, pulled a hamstring seven minutes into his debut back at Hull in the friendly win over arch-rivals Hull KR, while Blacklock contracted a virus on the club's warm weather training camp in Spain.

This has ruled both out of tomorrow's friendly against Les Catalans, and while the Black and Whites have not announced a squad to play at Huntington Stadium, the duo are likely to make their comebacks at York, five days before Hull begin their engage Super League campaign away to promoted Castleford.

Updated: 09:31 Saturday, January 28, 2006