MARK APPLEGARTH is the Championship Coach of the Year.
And three of his York Knights stars – halfback Liam Harris, hooker Paul McShane and prop or loose-forward Jordan Thompson – make up the shortlist for the second-tier player of the year prize.
Jack Smith, the 20-year-old Leeds Rhinos back who has spent four months impressing on loan at London Broncos, has been named Championship Young Player of the Year.
He featured 14 times for the capital club and kicked 49 goals to go with five tries to help the Broncos finish tenth in the table.
The awards follow a poll of the 13 second-tier coaches, and will be presented, with the player of the year confirmed, at the Rugby League Awards Night on Tuesday, October 7.
York, among the clubs in contention for a place in the proposed expanded 14-team Super League next year, claimed the Championship Leaders’ Shield and contest the Championship Grand Final at home to Toulouse Olympique on Sunday.
The Knights are seeking a 21st successive win, with that sequence including their 5-4 1895 Cup final victory over Featherstone Rovers at Wembley in June.
Harris, 28, who is in his fourth season at York, was responsible for all his side’s points in that match, through two goals and a field-goal.
Former Man of Steel McShane, 35, was signed from Castleford Tigers ahead of this season while Thompson, 34, joined from Leigh in 2022.
Ex-Wakefield Trinity coach Applegarth, 40, took over at York, where he had a spell as a player, in June 2024.