THE decision not to renew temporary deals for Castleford duo Nathan Massey and John Davies might provide the biggest talking point for York City Knights fans this weekend.

It might also mean Adam Howard becomes the man of the moment as the big prop gets set for a surprise Championship debut – just weeks after boss Dave Woods said he wasn’t ready for first-team action.

Either way, the Knights will hopefully have more competition for places up front as of next week – not only with Howard’s advancement but also with one player ready to come back to the club and one returning from injury.

This column reported a couple of weeks ago that Mark Castle, who came to Huntington Stadium on trial around Easter and played one game, was set to join the Knights on a more permanent basis once his commitments with amateur club Fryston finished.

Their season duly came to an end – on a bittersweet note for the 25-year-old Castle – with the BARLA National Cup final last Saturday, and so he is set to resume training with York this coming Tuesday, all being well.

Additionally, fellow prop-cum-second-row Ben Jones returned to the practice field this week after his sternum injury and he will step up his training to come into the reckoning for the visit of Widnes a week tomorrow. He has not played since mid-March.

Added to big Brett Waller’s recent return – and, hopefully, a return to form soon – it gives boss Dave Woods some good news regarding his pack, the Aussie having had to field makeshift front rows in recent weeks, with Nathan Freer also crocked for the Batley match and Ryan Esders and Davey Burns having to sit out last week’s Leigh game, not forgetting the fact Massey and Davies returned to their parent club at Easter.

Indeed, the imminent availability of Castle and Jones almost certainly played a part in the club’s thinking regarding Massey and Davies.

Woods reckoned it was “too early to say” whether the former could quickly become a first-team regular, but nevertheless said the pair’s return was a boost.

“It should give us a bit more firepower up front and more competition for places,” he said.

“We need to do some work on his (Castle’s) fitness for this level but he’s a big, strong kid and he defends pretty well, and he’s got a bit of aggression which is what we need.”

Fryston lost the cup final 20-18 to Sharlston thanks to a last-minute try, but Castle was named man of the match by trade paper League Weekly, who said of his display: “It was a tremendous workmanlike performance from the big back-rower… who laid the platform for virtually every Fryston attack and battered the Sharlston line for 80 minutes.”

Castle, who has had a previous stint in the semi-professional arena with Doncaster and Leigh, was hurting after that agonising defeat but told League Weekly he was “very excited” at the opportunity of playing for York.

His one appearance for the club came as a replacement prop in the home defeat to Hunslet on Good Friday.

Woods said: “He came up with a couple of dropped balls when trying to force his hand a bit – one was over the try-line. But he carried the ball really well.

“He helped us out that weekend and we said we’d take him back when his commitments with his club finished.”

Woods has seen footage of Castle in action for Fryston, including bits of the National Cup final as screened on Sky Sports’ rugby league programme Boots ‘N’ All, when the player had dyed his hair bright red.

He added: “I’ve read the reports and I saw a bit of him on Boots ‘N’ All – he looked all right… except for his hair.”

Supporters to assist Knights’ GB Students duo

KNIGHTS fans are clubbing together to help Matt Garside and Jordan Rice fund their trip to Australia with the Great Britain & Ireland Students.

As reported by The Press last month, the Knights will be without first-team regular Garside and reserves player of the year Rice for the matches against Dewsbury, Batley and Toulouse as both head down under on the Academic Lions’ three-week tour.

The duo, along with Dringhous-es-bred Sheffield Eagles starlet Pat Smith, are in the party that will leave on June 23 and play three test matches against the Australian Universities, and a game against an Australian Northern Territories select side.

Knights boss Dave Woods told The Press back then that the pair would be missed, but that it was great they got this opportunity. And now the supporters’ club are giving them great backing too, by staging a fundraising race night to help them achieve the £1,500 they each need to go on the tour.

Said Woods: “We’ll miss them but I think that, for them personally, it’s a great achievement and something they should be proud of.”

Second-row-cum-centre Garside, 20, goes to Northumbria University, and back-rower Rice, 21, studies in Hull.

The ‘Knight at the Races’ will be on Friday, June 17, in Bar 13. It is hoped the rest of the players and coaches will also be there.

Anyone with raffle prizes to donate or sporting memorabilia to put up for auction, or wanting to sponsor a race, can phone Ian Wilson at the Knights on 01904 767404.

Ian Hick, of the supporters’ club, said: “We urge all fans to attend to show our support for these lads. It’s an honour for them to represent our club.”

FORMER Knights favourite and York Acorn ARLC product Peter Fox is set to hit a century milestone for Hull KR during the Humberside derby at Hull tomorrow.

The 26-year-old England international needs one appearance to reach 100 for the Robins. The winger has scored 52 tries in that time and would no doubt love to add to that tally tomorrow.

Lee top but it’s Duane’s gong

JACK LEE was never likely to give up his Press Player of the Year accolade without a fight.

This week, he hit the top of the leaderboard for the first time this season after a second successive man-of-the-match accolade.

However, he was pipped to the Press Player of the Month for May award – as Duane Straugheir topped the poll of our readers.

Lee was The Press’s choice of top performer in the entertaining defeat to Leigh last week, and the three player-of-the-year points duly gleaned took him to joint-top of the table, alongside long-time leader John Davies.

Straugheir, though, beat Lee and Anthony Thackeray in the Player of the Month poll after some battling performances in the second row.

That vote endorses boss Dave Woods’ decision to switch him inside from centre, and the head coach said: “He’s worked really hard in the Toulouse game (on April 25) when we put him in the second row – he played really well and he’s carried that on.

“Against Leigh last week, he put himself about, carried the ball real hard and got through a lot of work. I think it (the award) is probably deserved.”

The monthly gong means Straugheir collects three bonus points for his Press Player of the Year tally.

Other players to pick up points this week were Chris Thorman (2pts) and Thackeray (1pt) as they were deemed our second and third best players respectively against Leigh.

Press Player of the Year standings: Davies 15pts, Lee 15, Freer 9, Straugheir 9, Thorman 8, Sutton 8, Massey 7, Bush 7, Presley 5, Thackeray 5, Benson 4, Clarke 3, Stearman 3, Jones 3, Waterman 2, Lewis 2, Esders 2, Barlow 1.