JOE Law is ‘loving’ his loan spell with the York Knights after facing his parent club Wakefield Trinity on Sunday.

The Knights’ electric run of form that saw Mark Applegarth’s side break into the Betfred Championship play-off spots was disrupted on Sunday after a spirited 20-4 defeat to league winners Wakefield, who have not yet been beaten on home soil this campaign.

Law was allowed to feature for York against his parent club, admitting that the experience was ‘bizarre’, and spoke on his time with the Knights so far as well as his established close relationship with Head Coach Applegarth.

“I’m loving it. It’s a great set-up, a great bunch of lads,” Law enthused.

“It’s class. I’m so grateful for the opportunity with them.

“It’s a phenomenal set-up. The fans, coaching staff, everything is just class and I’m loving it.

“This is my first season playing Championship and it’s a great step up.

“You need to be tested, especially against teams like this. It’s how you learn and how you grow.

“It’s a great experience and I’m very grateful for it.

“I’ve known Mash for many years since I was down at Wakefield, and I think it came around with the news that Jimmy [Keinhorst] was retiring.

“We already had one back-rower playing at centre for York and there were no other centres available.

“When Jimmy told Mash that he was retiring, he came and spoke to me about it and I told him that I would be up for it.

“He was one of the most consistent centres that there has been.

RECOMMENDED READING:

“He’s highly-regarded, played in Grand Finals, the Challenge Cup and he’s a great player.

“To have them boots to fill, it’s a big job definitely.

“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to play in the Championship at York.”

Law spoke on the York performance in their defeat to Wakefield and laughed about the try conceded to Iain Thornley early on, admitting that he had allowed the Trinity players to get inside his head.

The young centre believes that the Knights could improve on their on-the-ball quality that has been shown in recent weeks, feeling that it was below par against the table-toppers, and spoke on his experience of playing against his parent club.

Law laughed: “It was bizarre! Honestly, from the minute we pulled up here and I was in the York gear, it was strange to say the least.

“I’ve been coming here since I was 14 as part of Wakefield, and I don’t think I’ve played on this pitch this year as a Wakefield player, so to come here in York colours was a bit strange.

“That first-half, for myself, I got dragged into the occasion a little bit.

“Knowing the players they were trying to get into my head and it probably worked for that first 20, 30 minutes.

“That first try that they got down there definitely got in my head, quite a lot.

“I was distraught. I train against him all of the time and it’s never something that really bothers me.

“I was confident going in to tackle and I saw he was getting away.

“I couldn’t catch him. I was pretty distraught at that and it definitely got in my head.

“I just had to move on at half-time and get over it. It’s the game and it happens.

“Once we’d got settled down after those first few tries, that second-half performance, our defence was class.

“I thought that defence and the team spirit display was great, once we got the occasion out of our heads.

“It was just a lot of them last passes. They’re a good defensive team. They are the table-toppers for a reason.

“We’ll look back on it in video, but the ball in hand has been great in the last few weeks, but we probably just got a little bit away from that today.

“I don’t know if that was to do with the occasion, but we definitely have to look back at that and get back to that on how we’ve played in the last few weeks, that has been winning us games.”

Law will now look ahead to the Knights’ trip to Sheffield Eagles on Friday (7.30pm), and hope that York can gain ground against their competitors to finish the regular Championship season in a play-off spot.

“It’s a short turnaround obviously. Us and them, and Featherstone, are all battling for positions now.

“It’s shaping up to be a good game against them definitely, I’m looking forward to it.

“I’ve watched him play against Wakefield and I think that they’ve played against Wakefield three times now this season, so I’ve watched him every time.

“We’ll do our homework on him and take it as it comes really. We’ve been going one week at a time with all of our focus on Wakefield this week.

“We’ll move on now to Sheffield.”

Law’s impressive form for York has already earned the attention of supporters hoping that his stay can become more long-term, with Wakefield set to play in the Betfred Super League next season.

The centre isn’t decided yet on where his future lies, and admitted that he felt another loan spell to the Championship could be beneficial for his career.

“I think I’m at Wakefield next year, but obviously I’ve spoken about the loans because of how much they’ve helped me this year.

“Playing at Hunslet and then coming here in the Championship.

“I’ll definitely be looking for another loan spell, see how pre-season unfolds and see how it all goes.”