York City Knights coach Dave Woods says his team must play "smarter" after they fought back to beat Dewsbury 30-26.

Knights trailed 12-0 but tries from Chris Thorman, Brett Waller, Matt Garside, Rhys Clarke and Ryan Esders secured a second successive league win.

Woods told BBC Radio York: "If they do things right, right from the start, they're going to be a decent side.

"We can't afford to keep doing that in this league, it's too hard to do it. We need to be smarter about how we play."

Knights were still 18-12 behind at half-time and Woods added: "It took us 30 minutes before we started to play and then we put two easy tries on the board.

"We just weren't playing footy. We're just our own worst enemy. You can't rely on your fitness to come back at the end of games."

The coach was happy with the performances of Anthony Thackeray and James Ford, his two new signings from Widnes, and highlighted the display of full-back Tom Bush.

"If he wasn't man of the match he was very close. He did a lot of work and carried the ball back really well. I thought he was very good," Woods added.

After starting the Championship season with four defeats and a draw, Woods' side have picked up form just in time as they entertain Super League side Hull KR in the Challenge Cup on Sunday, followed by tough league trips to Barrow and Batley.

"We'll just be going out there and doing our best, and if we're smart and play well, the score will take care of itself," said Woods.

The win over Dewsbury lifted the Knights up to eighth in the table and Woods added: "We're slowly sneaking up and hopefully we can keep pushing up that ladder."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version