WILL Jubb was left humbled as he made a milestone 172nd appearance for York Knights at Whitehaven on Sunday.

The ever-dependable hooker, playing in his eighth season at the Knights, is now behind only Hall of Fame inductee Mark Cain in the number of appearances made by a player at the club across the summer era.

Speaking to BBC Radio York, he enthused: “It’s obviously a very special moment for me and my family.

“The club means a lot to me, so it’s a great honour to be up there and now be the club’s second-highest appearance maker.

“It’s really humbling, and I’m very proud of it.

“172 is a lot of games, and there’s been a lot of ups and downs, but it’s been absolutely brilliant. What a ride! 

“And to have a good performance like that today to top it off was brilliant.”

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Nikau Williams’ hat-trick, alongside a Joe Law brace and second-half tries from props Brenden Santi and Jack Martin saw York keep their play-off aspirations alive with a 40-0 victory in Cumbria.

But the last word belonged to Jubb, who, after Williams had crashed over next to the posts late on, marked the occasion with the game’s final conversion.

That was the 27-year-old’s first professional goal, but he admitted: "I used to kick a bit when I was younger, so I’d back myself.

“But it was one of those dodgy ones where it wasn’t straight in front of the posts, it was off to the side. I didn’t strike it great, but luckily it went through the middle.

“You’ve got to back yourself, haven’t you? But it was nice to get one, it’s something I haven’t done professionally before.

“It was a nice thing to add to my collection.”

Jubb is still enjoying his rugby at the Knights in his eighth season at the club, insisting the current group are building something special.Jubb is still enjoying his rugby at the Knights in his eighth season at the club, insisting the current group are building something special. (Image: Craig Hawkhead)

Jubb, who came through the ranks at Hull Wyke before joining Betfred Super League heavyweights Hull KR, first joined the Knights on dual registration in 2017.

The hooker made his move permanent a year later, and was an integral part of the sides which won the Betfred League One title and finished third in the Betfred Championship in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Asked what led to him permanently joining York, he admitted that a lack of first-team opportunities at the Robins, the club's upward trajectory, and the knowledge of then-head coach James Ford were all contributing factors.

And eight years later, Jubb is still firmly enjoying his rugby with the Knights.

He continued: "It's brilliant! When you're winning everything's brilliant, but even when you're not, the group is a really tight, together group.

"I really enjoy coming and playing with them and training with them - we've got something special building again hopefully.

"We've got four games left which are going to be tough - three of them on the road - but hopefully that togetherness and the way that we're playing at the moment, there's room for improvement and we keep giving away too many penalties and things , but we're really turning up for each other.

"It's a nice place to be at the moment."