YORK Knights boss Mark Applegarth hailed captain Liam Harris as “one of the best players in the Championship” after his Man of the Match performance against Featherstone Rovers secured a coveted home Play-off Eliminator.

The half-back scored twice and fashioned a stunning Joe Brown try on the stroke of half time as the Knights earned a hard-fought 16-6 victory, their first over the West Yorkshire club at the LNER Community Stadium.

York will now host Widnes Vikings next Saturday (3pm) for a place in the Play-off Semi-Finals.

Billed as a top six shootout, the match was in every inch a play-off, displaying an intensity that left the healthy home crowd unable to tear their eyes away from the pitch.

But despite their defeat, remarkably, Featherstone have still crept into the play-offs, beating Sheffield Eagles on points difference following their shock defeat at relegated Dewsbury Rams.

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Harris was the obvious Man of the Match candidate, though there were notable performances from hooker Josh Daley, who will return to his native Australia upon the season’s conclusion, and ever-industrious forward Jordan Thompson, who was relentless in the centre of the field.

Lauding his captain, a beaming Applegarth admitted: “Liam is one of the best players in this league.

“I think what you’ll find is that Featherstone had done a lot of homework on Ata [Hingano] and that freed up some space for Liam to do what he did there.

“Liam showed the smartness to understand that - he is one of the best players in this league.

“And when those two are having a run at you, it’s not what you want as the opposition defence is it!

“I thought he took his tries really well, but we’ve just got to keep the dressing room nice and composed, build on what we’ve just done and where we can improve, and move onto next week.”

As they had in the reverse fixture at the Millennium Stadium back in June, York got off to a poor start, doing themselves no favours as they fell behind with just five minutes on the clock.

Ata Hingano’s 40/20 attempt bounced out of play for a 20-metre restart before former Knight Ben Reynolds was tackled high on the 20-metre line.

The home defence switched off as Featherstone went right to Thomas Lacans, whose bullet pass was finished by Josh Hardcastle into the right corner.

Gareth Gale saw a try ruled out for offside, but the Knights crucially replied as the half reached its midpoint, Harris combining with Hingano and jinking his way through behind the posts.

Nikau Williams’ conversion levelled the scores, and the hosts came within a whisker of taking the lead when Harris’ high hanging kick split both Caleb Aekins and Connor Wynne, but Brenden Santi was ruled to have strayed offside as he grounded the loose ball.

York though did find another way through four minutes before half time, Harris throwing a sublime cut-out pass to Brown, who had just enough space to provide an equally stunning finish into the right corner.

“Browny is about seven feet tall, so luckily he just got it in!” the head coach joked.

“But I thought it was an excellent pass, great vision, and a great finish from Joe as well.”

Joe Brown's stunning effort handed the Knights a 10-6 half-time lead.Joe Brown's stunning effort handed the Knights a 10-6 half-time lead. (Image: Craig Hawkhead Photography) Featherstone again came out well after the break, but it was the Knights who came within a whisker of extending their advantage when Hingano angled a grubber towards the onrushing Joe Law, but the ball bounced up off his shin and away to safety.

Gale then saw a second effort ruled out for a knock-on before Harris’ game-winning try inside the final 10 minutes.

Harris celebrates his second try.Harris celebrates his second try. (Image: Craig Hawkhead Photography) The half-back broke through the visiting defence on the 30-metre line, twice rounding Aekins to score beneath the posts to put the game out of Rovers’ reach.

York again showed a new-found composure that has become a hallmark of their performances over recent weeks, and Applegarth believes it has been no coincidence that it has coincided with the return of their captain.

“I thought Liam Harris led his troops around perfectly,” he explained.

“When we needed a cool head to steer the ship, he stepped up.

“I’m really happy Liam is on this team and how he took his try right at the end to seal the game I thought was absolutely outstanding.”