COACH James Ford believes a "nine out of 10" performance will give York City Knights a shot at Betfred Championship play-off glory at Toulouse Olympique.

The third-placed Knights travel to second-placed Toulouse in Saturday's qualifying final, with the prize for the winners a shot at table-topping Toronto Wolfpack.

The games between the sides in the regular season were tight affairs, with Toulouse winning 30-26 at Stade Ernest Argles in April before triumphing 25-18 at Bootham Crescent in June.

The French side piled up 877 points in their 27 games, second only to runaway leaders Toronto and 265 more than York.

Ford said: “Toulouse are a quality side, they have a good coach and some outstanding individuals, and they’ve developed a bit more grit this year.

"They’ve been consistently better than us this season, which is why they’ve finished above us.

“They’re outstanding with the ball and they can score unorthodox tries. It looks unplanned but it’s not – it can’t be as it happens every week.

"It’s their style and it’s hard to defend against. We need to be at our best.

“But it’s a one-off game. We need to go there and be at nine out of 10 and make sure our effort is right where it needs to be.

"That will give us a good opportunity."