York Knights coach launches strong accusations towards own players after Huddersfield defeat

Mark Applegarth says he will be having honest conversations with select individuals in his York Knights squad after a disappointing performance against Huddersfield Giants.

The Knights lost 34-14, their fourth straight Super League defeat, with Applegarth unwilling to use injuries as an excuse for their latest showing.

York have run Warrington, Wigan and Wakefield close in recent outings but were no match for Huddersfield, who were deserving of the victory.

And Applegarth gave an honest appraisal of his side’s latest efforts post-match. Asked if that was his side’s first disappointing performance of the season, he told Love Rugby League: “The most honest answer I can give you is yes.

“I think, as I say, the majority of the squad has bought into each other and gone hard. I think one or two have just probably not bought into the squad. They are private conversations you’d expect I’ll be having, but I feel we let ourselves down today.

“It’s the first time that I feel that we’ve not shown that desperation to defend our errors as much as we should. As a coach, that’s what I’ll be chasing.”

He continued: “Listen, you’ve got to go through these times. You can’t just celebrate it when it’s going good. You earn your money when things aren’t going well, don’t you? So, listen, there’s no panic in our part.

“It’s really important that we don’t want to accept that as a standard at the same time, if that makes sense.

“You’ve got to work hard, you’ve got to keep on showing up, and you’ve got to make sure you go even harder to turn it around. It’s not rocket science what you do, is it? So that’s what we’ll be getting after, and ultimately, as head coach, that’s on me. I’m the leader of this organisation, and there’s a certain standard I expect, and that’s what we’ll be getting after.”

York were unable to name an 18th man due to their injury issues, which were worsened by Will Dagger failing a HIA. Josh Griffin went off late on after a back spasm issue that had been managed leading into the game deteriorated in the closing stages.

“Listen, there’s a few doing it tough at the moment, isn’t there? It is what it is. I think I’d rather focus on lads that are out there.

“As I said, I felt there was easily enough talent out there to go out there and do a job. We want to be that team that can pride itself on that. I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for us, put it that way.”