YORK KNIGHTS coach Mark Applegarth wants his side to use their defeat at Featherstone as a wake-up call as they approach a key block of fixtures.
Having hosted Widnes, the LNER Stadium side make the trip to London Broncos on Saturday before a visit from Hunslet, then Bradford in a big 1895 Cup semi-final showdown.
The Bulls meeting precedes a bye round for the Knights, who after a slow start to the season, picked up three straight wins, at Batley and Barrow and at home to Doncaster, to climb the league table, as well as seeing off Widnes at the LNER in the quarter-finals of the 1895 Cup.
Then came the 24-22 loss at Featherstone, now coached by former York assistant coach Paul Cooke.
The Knights led 16-0 at half-time, with the help of a Ben Jones-Bishop try double, before leaking points as Rovers attacked down the notorious Millennium Stadium slope.
The home team notched four converted tries before Applegarth’s side mustered a late response, and the coach said: “It was a real stinger.
“We knew it was going to be tough, because Featherstone are a good team who know how to play their pitch, and we had prepared for that.
“Fair play to them, because they showed some real fight, but I was disappointed with some of the tries we let in, especially after recording a zero in beating Doncaster (66-0).”
Versatile back Joe Brown made a 150th career appearance against Featherstone, having reached 100 for York two matches before.
The 26-year-old former England Academy international started his senior career at Bradford, having spent time in the development systems of both the Bulls and Wigan, where he worked under now Warriors coach Matt Peet.
Brown made 29 Bradford appearances between 2019 and 2021 and also made seven for London Broncos and twelve for Swinton, all on dual-registration.
