YORK City Knights have bolstered their pack power for their assault on the Championship by recruiting Dewsbury Rams prop Jack Teanby - seemingly from under the noses of London Broncos.

The 22-year-old, who was out of contract at the Rams, has penned a one-year deal with the Betfred League One champions, becoming the 13th player to join the 2019 roster.

And The Press understands he has done so despite being courted by a number of other Championship clubs plus Super League newcomers London.

Knights boss James Ford said: "He's very highly thought of by lots of people in the game and I expect he was on the radar of a number of clubs.

"The level of support we've received through last year and this year has enabled us to bring in a player of Jack's calibre.

"The more that people get behind the club in terms of season tickets, sponsorships, sales, and so on, increases our ability to bring in more quality players."

Former Wakefield academy forward Teanby has played 77 times for Dewsbury since 2016, scoring nine tries.

Ford went on: "Jack has shown over the last couple of years he's a good Championship player.

"He's played a lot of games for Dewsbury and in the games I've watched he's always stood out for his contact with and without the ball.

"With his energy and intensity in defence, he clearly values hard work and that suits my philosophy on how the game should be played.

"Having spoken to him, he's got an obvious drive to be better and these kinds of players who value hard work and want to always improve and develop are a good fit for York City Knights."

Teanby first caught Ford's eye in a big way when he was man of the match in Dewsbury's Challenge Cup win over the Knights in April 2016.

And the York boss revealed he has attempted to sign him previously.

"He's been on the radar since that game onwards," he said. "I tried to sign him twice before we got him.

"He's a player we've put a lot of time and effort into bringing here, and I'm looking forward to working with him and helping him fulfil his potential."

The Knights have seen props Adam Robinson, Dan Hawksworth and Rory Dixon leave the club since the end of their title-winning campaign, while Aussie Joel Edwards is seemingly unlikely to return to the Minster city, having gone back down under following his short spell with the club.

Bolstering the front row with new blood has therefore been a priority.

Asked is Teanby could be classed as a direct replacement for first-team regular Robinson, Ford said: "A few middles have left the club and we have needed to bring some in.

"I would not say Jack is a like-for-like replacement (for Robinson) as they're different in how they play the game, but he's come here to become a better player and help York grow as a club."

The 13 players now signed on for next year are League One Player of the Year Connor Robinson, fellow nominee Ben Cockayne, hookers Harry Carter and Will Jubb, centre Brad Hey, winger/full-backs Ash Robson and Matt Chilton, full-back/half-back Matty Marsh, and packmen Ronan Dixon, Josh Jordan-Roberts, Joe Porter, Sam Scott and Teanby.

And Ford intimated more signings were imminent.

"We are down the track (in negotiations) with a number of other quality players and blokes I think will help take the club to the next level," he said.