York Knights beaten 40-4 by Wakefield Trinity in 1895 Cup

In the sides’ first meeting since 1997, the visitors showed just why they are the strong favourites for the Betfred Championship title with a commanding performance to put themselves in pole position to take the Group Three top spot ahead of their final match against Newcastle Thunder.

Luke Gale brought Trinity onto the scoreboard with just four minutes played, and it didn’t take long for Jermaine McGillvary and Josh Griffin to add to their tally.

The Knights, to their credit, never gave up against their full-time opponents, but a similarly slow start to the second half put any chance of a victory out of their reach, with Will Jubb’s late try proving a mere consolation in a match that gave a real indication of just where they are at this season.

Andrew Henderson confirmed that he would rotate his squad, making two changes to the side that started last weekend’s rout of Newcastle Thunder.

Myles Harrison was handed his first start of the season on the wing – with Joe Brown replacing Will Dagger at full-back- whilst Ukuma Ta’ai returned at prop, leaving Jordan Thompson to move back to loose forward in place of James Cunningham.

Daryl Powell named perhaps the strongest Wakefield squad at his disposal, with his starting line-up bearing the traditional numbers 1-13.

Birthday boy Mason Lino partnered Gale in the halves, Huddersfield Giants legend McGillvary lined up alongside former Halifax Panthers flyer Lachlan Walmsley on the wing, whilst Renouf Atoni and Josh Bowden led the line at prop.

Wakefield’s camp also included two familiar faces, that of young centre Oli Pratt, who spent the latter half of last season on loan at his hometown club, and Danny Kirmond, who took up a coaching role at Trinity after his retirement during the off-season.

The Knights almost made the perfect start after the swirling wind saw Liam Harris’ kick-off cause havoc in the Wakefield defence, but Jimmy Keinhorst knocked-on as he looked to burst forward after collecting the ball.

Instead, it was the visitors who drew first blood from their opening attack, a silky team move involving Pratt and Walmsley on the left edge seeing the latter float a kick into the path of Gale, who strolled across to the left of the posts to break the deadlock with just four minutes played.

Max Jowitt slotted over the extras and did so again just three minutes later after Atoni had won the field position for McGillvary to step back off his right foot before diving across into the corner.

York were at times their worst enemies, and they were duly punished by Griffin just after the 10-minute mark after coughing up a penalty for interfering in the chase within their own 10-metre line.

The Knights were presented with their best attacking opportunity of the match from a poor Wakefield pass shortly after, but instead found themselves further behind after Brenden Santi’s ball spill allowed former Heworth youngster Pratt to play in Walmsley, who just managed to stretch the ball across the line as he was tackled.

Henderson’s side did have their opportunities to strike back, with Griffin failing to claim Harris’ restart cleanly before a high tackle on Nikau Williams saw them win a penalty 10 metres from the line, but they could only watch on as Harris’ grubber rolled dead.

And the Knights again found themselves drawing a blank three minutes later, being kept out by some staunch try-line defence after they had forced the visitors into a ball spill, high tackle and knock-on.

A tip tackle on the impressive Jack Teanby presented the hosts with a fantastic opportunity to cut their 24-point deficit after the interval, but a strong tackle on Oli Field saw the ball slip from the back-rower’s grasp.

However, Wakefield soon knocked any wind out of York sails, the old adage of penalty, six-again, try, rearing its head as Caleb Uele drove forward before twisting himself across the line, leaving Jowitt with the simplest of conversions.

Harrison conceded the game’s first drop-out after a combination of six Wakefield players forced him back in-goal, and it was almost inevitable when the visitors added to their advantage, Walmsley profiting from an overlap on the left wing to cross the whitewash, before running towards the posts to ground as the York defence watched on.

And they almost found themselves further behind three minutes later after conceding a scrum, but Jesse Dee did just enough to bundle Jowitt into touch as he looked to score into the left corner.

Harvey Reynolds then provided another try-saving tackle, denying Gale from running onto his own grubber to score.

Will Jubb crashed over from close range to score York's only try of the afternoon. (Image: Craig Hawkhead)

The Knights continued to battle, the pressure from a goal-line drop-out, knock-on and play the ball error eventually paying off as Dee’s bullet pass found Jubb, who backed himself to crash over from close range to score York’s only points of the afternoon.

With Dagger absent from the squad, Williams took over duties from the tee, but could only watch on as his kick flew wide.

But the visitors wrapped up the scoring on the hooter, a six-again within 10 metres of the York line allowing Walmsley to complete his hat-trick after ghosting across into the left corner.

Courtesy of last weekend’s record-breaking win at Newcastle, York still remain in a strong position to qualify for the Quarter Finals as one of the competition’s highest-scoring second-placed teams, as the competition heads into a week’s break for the Betfred Challenge Cup.

YORK KNIGHTS: Brown, Harrison, Dee, Keinhorst, Towse, Williams, Harris, Ta’ai, Jubb, Fitzsimmons, Field, Bailey, Thompson.

INTERCHANGES: Teanby, Santi, Pemberton, Reynolds.

TRIES: Jubb (70)

GOALS: Williams 0/1

WAKEFIELD TRINITY: Jowitt, McGillvary, Thornley, Pratt, Walmsley, Lino, Gale, Bowden Hood, Atoni, Ashurst, Griffin, Pitts.

INTERCHANGES: Uele, Cozza, Boothroyd, Doyle.

TRIES: Gale (4), McGillvary (7), Griffin (11), Walmsley (22, 52, 80), Uele (44).

GOALS: Jowitt 6/7

POINTS SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-6, 0-10, 0-12, 0-16, 0-18, 0-22, 0-24, 0-28, 0-30, 0-34, 0-36, 4-36, 4-40.

HALF-TIME: 0-24

YORK’S STAR MAN: Jordan Thompson. A typical workhorse performance from the loose forward, who continually drew York up field.

REFEREE: Scott Mikalauskas