Mark Applegarth ready to earn second Super League chance with York Knights after bright start

The 39-year-old has hit the ground running with back-to-back wins, in stark contrast to the start of his Wakefield reign when it took him 16 games to get off the mark.

Applegarth, who became the competition's youngest head coach when he took over at Belle Vue at the end of 2022, paid the price for Trinity's relegation with his job but left the club with his reputation intact.

His efforts in challenging circumstances did not go unnoticed by York who offered Applegarth a coaching lifeline earlier this month.

The experience at Wakefield has only strengthened his desire to be successful in Super League.

"I want to coach at the top level," Applegarth told The Yorkshire Post.

"I feel I can do a job there. I felt I handled myself pretty well last year under some very extreme circumstances and want to get back there and show what I can do without having my hands tied behind my back.

"If the club back up what they said they want to do, hopefully I get another chance in Super League.

"Super League is where you've got to aim to be. I feel like I could offer a lot of value there.

"But I don't want to think too far ahead. It's genuinely been enjoyable going into work for the last few weeks."

York began Applegarth's reign with a 40-0 rout of Dewsbury Rams before overturning a 16-0 deficit to claim a rare win at Featherstone Rovers, a team coached by his former Wakefield assistant James Ford.

Applegarth's relationship with Ford broke down at Belle Vue but he insists he took no extra satisfaction from Sunday's victory.

"It wasn't about me," said Applegarth, who is preparing for his first home game in charge against high-flying Sheffield Eagles this weekend.

"I'm more pleased that we overcame some adversity against a quality Championship team to find a way to come from 16 points behind.

"It was no personal grudge match. I'm only bothered about York and where we need to get to as a team.

"I've been really lucky that the lads at York are a pleasure to work with. They're all really together and receptive to learning.

"I'm really happy with everything but it'll probably be our stiffest test on Sunday against a very well-coached Sheffield team that are probably the pick of the bunch if you take Wakefield out of it."

The recent wins have propelled York up to seventh in a congested table, just two points adrift of sixth-placed Featherstone.

After a frustrating start to the campaign, all of a sudden the play-offs are in sight for the Knights.

"I don't think it's a secret that we want to be in that top six but there are 10 or 11 teams that are vying for it," said Applegarth.

"It's a very tight league. If you take Wakefield out of it who are full-time and a class above in terms of the depth of the squad, the rest of it is very competitive.

"You've got Sheffield, Toulouse, Widnes, Bradford and then a group after that we feel we're in. We should be competing with those sorts of teams and aiming to be in play-off contention.

"That's got to be the aim for the year. There's no point being involved if not."

Applegarth must wait until the final month of the season for a reunion with Wakefield, a club he served for the best part of a decade.

The September date is already marked on his calendar.

"It's fair to say Wakefield are by far the strongest team in the Championship," said Applegarth.

"They're very well coached and have a fantastic set-up there now. It'll be a good occasion to go back and see some old faces.

"I didn't leave on bad terms. Ninety-nine per cent of the people there understood the situation last year.

"I'll look forward to coming with York when it does come to that and we'll be trying our best to end their unbeaten run if they're still on it."