York Knights’ Mark Applegarth weighs in on Super League talk

It was confirmed in midweek that from the 2026 season onwards, the Super League will expand to 14 teams after the contesting clubs for the 2025 season voted in favour of the change.

How the Super League would shape up in the future was discussed at Leeds Rhinos’ Headingly Stadium on Monday, with an agreement being made on the expansion.

The decision on which teams will make the step up from the Betfred Championship, and which will drop down from the Super League, will be decided by combining the Club Grading System, with an independent panel to be chaired by Lord Jonathan Caine after he joined the Rugby Football League Board.

Two clubs will join the Super League recommended by that panel, with York Knights speculated to be a part of the new look division.

Applegarth has now given his thoughts on the change and the chances of the Knights being promoted into the Super League, saying that he believes it will prove to be a positive move in the long-term.

For York too, Applegarth is confident that they would be more than ready should they be placed into the Super League, praising the recent work of Chairman Clint Goodchild and Andrew Henderson, Head of Rugby Operations & Development.

“In general, I get arguments to and for,” Applegarth admitted.

“I think it will be good long-term, but everyone needs clarity on which teams it is, then you can get that time to get your infrastructure and your squad in place, and what the leagues look like underneath it.

“As I say, it’s good that there’s been an announcement, but I don’t really stress myself with it.

“I just leave that to the powers that be, then obviously the people above me, Clint [Goodchild, York RLFC Chairman] has got his finger on the pulse with all of that.

“I know that he’s doing an absolutely outstanding job in making sure that York is Super League ready.

“With signings such as Paul Vaughan, the wider public can see that, and it’s just a case where if we are lucky enough to get that opportunity, then we will be ready.

“There’s no two ways about that, I think there’s everything here in York to have a thriving Super League team.

“It’s just a case of whether the RFL and the wider audience see that as well.

“Strategically, there is no other club in 20 miles, which I know a lot of current Super League clubs can’t say.

“If you put a real plan in place over the next five to ten years, then you’ve got a real good hub for growing rugby league.

“There’s a lot of good amateurs that come out of York, and I know because I used to be Head of Youth at Wakefield and I used to come poaching talent out of York all of the time.

“So do Castleford, such did Hull, that’s how Wakefield ended up with Oliver Pratt, we got him from Heworth at the time when I was there.

“There’s definitely the talent there, it just needs that professional set-up above it.”

One argument that has been made against the Knights’ involvement in the Super League is questions surrounding the level of support the club gains with numbers through the gate.

Applegarth is confident those queries will be quashed should the club be put in the Super League, responding: “One argument that someone made to me the other day was about the fanbase, but I think that York has got a very loyal, passionate fanbase.

“Like anything, if you’re in the top league, then you attract more fans – that goes without saying.

“If you have York versus Wigan on a Friday night for example in the Super League, then I guarantee you get seven or eight thousand in this stadium, packing it out.

“I think that argument takes care of itself by getting York into the Super League, you’ve got the facilities here, people want to come and see a spectacle and an event.

“The fans would follow if York were in the top league, and the loyal three or four thousand would be there every week regardless.

“I don’t understand that argument in terms of fans, because I think York would get fully behind the club, such as they do with York City in the football.

“You’d get seven or eight thousand in every home game.

“Hopefully we’ll get some good news, I think that there is ourselves that is getting spoken about, there’s London, Bradford, Toulouse, I’m sure a couple of others will throw their name in that, the team we’re playing on Sunday in Oldham.

“It’s really easy to get caught in the distraction of all of that, but luckily I just worry about picking a team on Sunday and the rest will take care of itself.”

Chairman Goodchild had previously been vocal in his determination to get the Knights into the Super League, with Applegarth sharing the notion.

Applegarth would go on to explain how Goodchild’s long-term ambition is why he came to York, and spoke more on the future plans for the club.

“That’s the reason I came to York,” Applegarth told the Press.

“I’d obviously had a taste of it with Wakefield, but I was in a lucky position where I had a bit of time on my hands and could pick a job that I felt aligned to where I wanted to be.

“The first thing that Clint said was that he wanted to be in the Super League with York.

“When I came and saw the facilities, not only the ground but also the training facilities, the city speaks for itself with how much tourism it gets every year.

“We’ve got a thriving community rugby league set-up, I know that Hendo is doing a lot of good stuff in terms of getting the youth system set up.

“There’s good partnerships getting born with Penrith and Newcastle, and once all of that aligns over the next three to five years, I think that we’ll have a real powerhouse of rugby league in your hands.

“That’s not possible without Clint and his ambition to take York to the top of the tree.

“You’ve got to take a lot of enthusiasm out of what Hull KR and Wakefield has done.

“I can only speak for Wakefield from being on the other side of it, but I remember when Matt [Ellis, Wakefield chairman] first came in, and obviously it was before I got sacked, he was talking through what the ambition were.

“It wasn’t just a case of wanting to buy Wakefield and to just get back into the Super League, it was a case of getting back into the Super League and winning the thing.”

With Goodchild and Henderson working hard behind-the-scenes to ensure that the club are Super League ready, Applegarth has quickly established his role in how he believes he can help the club move forward.

The Knights Head Coach will simply be focusing on his role – coaching the team and ensuring that they perform to a high standard on the pitch.

“There’s obviously conversations that happen behind-the-scenes of what that would look like, but my job is simple – I just focus on coaching a great group of men every week.

“We’ve got a fully transparent leadership, people know exactly what is going on, and timelines are there for if anything does happen.

“We’re not hiding anything away, the headlines that you see is what we know.

“Obviously it will expand to 14 teams, but no one knows who those teams are yet, so I’m sure we’ll find out soon.

“We’re just focusing on putting on another good performance on Sunday, that’s all I can do in my job, to control what I can control – preparing a group of men for a game of rugby on the weekend.”