Mark Applegarth’s team are set to take to the Wembley Stadium turf on Saturday for their 1895 Cup final against Featherstone Rovers (5.30pm), with a shot at silverware on the line.
A run of just one defeat in ten matches has seen Applegarth’s Knights soar up the Betfred Championship table, a run which also heavily contributed to their 1895 Cup success.
York aren’t the only team to be feeling the positive effects of good form though, with Featherstone also enjoying a run of results, after five wins from their last six.
It’s something Applegarth will remain wary of, but remains keen to ensure that winning becomes a habit for his Knights players.
“Both teams have got a bit of momentum going into the game, but from a personal point of view, it’s good to get that winning momentum,” Applegarth enthused to the Press.
“Like anything, winning or losing is a habit.
“It has been different sorts of wins for us too, which is pleasing, so that’s always a good sign.
“It’s all about nailing it on the day now and especially with knockout rugby league, it’s really important to nail the tactics on the day.
“I’m looking forward to it and am excited to see the playing group get into action, I know the players are excited about it too.”
York head into the fixture off of the back of a dominant 48-8 triumph over strugglers Sheffield Eagles, where they bagged nine tries and stormed to an early lead.
The match had lessons to learn from, according to Applegarth, who was just relieved to extend their winning run in the Championship.
Applegarth admitted: “I don’t think there is a perfect way [to prepare for Wembley]. We started really well and went 16-0 up really early, and from a playing and coaching point of view, that’s exactly where you want to be.
“At the same time, I felt that we let our own standards slack a little bit after that, without sounding disrespectful to Sheffield.
“We let them find their way back into the game, so it’s a good lesson for us to learn there.
“Ultimately, the main thing we wanted from last week was to get the two points for our league position.
“That’s going to be really important, we didn’t want to slip up, so it’s job done there.”
Applegarth also took some of the blame for York’s small wavering in focus against Sheffield, which had allowed the Eagles to find a route back into the contest early in the second-half.
The Knights Head Coach believed that he got the manner of his interchanges wrong, but he took it as an experience to learn from for both the boss and his group of players.
“It was a new experience for us all, including myself,” he explained.
“I thought I got my bench rotations wrong, I thought I got my substitute rotations wrong, so that was a good lesson for me.
“It’s hard, we’re now an established group but we’re still a relatively new group, especially when it comes to getting into finals.
“It’s a new experience for a lot players, we know not to let our standards slip and to not keep one eye on next week, because ultimately that is how you get burned.
“It’s another thing to experience, so now we have gone through that lesson hopefully and everyone’s got that in their memory bank.
“If we ever find ourselves in that position again, we’ll be able to take a lot of valuable learning from it.”
