York City Knights praised after battling Featherstone defeat 

Josh McAllister
York City Knights

The Premier Sports punditry team in Kevin Brown, Leon Pryce and Jodie Cunningham all praised York City Knights in their defeat to Featherstone.

York fell to a 30-12 defeat at home to the league favourites in Featherstone in the first edition of Monday Night Rugby League on Premier Sports.

Brendan O’Hagan and Liam Harris were both missing for York, which saw Matty Marsh named in the halves.

James Glover scored the club’s first try of the 2022 campaign before Will Jubb crossed in the second half. Winger Joe Brown impressed, and the Premier Sports punditry team saw positive signs from the Knights. 

The trio spoke with presenter Emma Jones following the full-time hooter.

Report: Brian McDermott praises skipper in victory and provides injury update

Kevin Brown, Jodie Cunningham and Leon Pryce have their say on York City Knights

“I think they take a lot away from that,” Leon Pryce said on Premier Sports. 

“I don’t think they should be too disheartened. They were missing key players, missing half-backs. I think they were missing Marsh playing at full-back. 

“They were really resilient and stayed in the game for a long time. I think James Ford can’t be too disappointed. There’s things to work on but they’ll come good when they get good players back.”

Former England half-back Kevin Brown added: “I think we mentioned how clunky their attack was, but one thing as a coach you went away with is the effort and energy. 

“If they keep using that and they get a little bit more quality on the field, they’ll not go far off in these big games because that’s about as good as they’ll play in this competition.”

St Helens and England star Jodie Cunningham added: “There’s loads to take from that.

“Jamie Ellis’ kicking game was really good. I think they got a couple of repeat sets in that second half where they really put pressure on Featherstone and really tested their defence.

“If you can do that against Featherstone, you can do that against anyone in the league.”

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