# 2021 York City Knights season

In the 2021 rugby league season York City Knights competed in the 2021 RFL Championship, the 2021 Challenge Cup and the 2021 RFL 1895 Cup. It was the first season that the club played at the York Community Stadium. At the RFL end of year awards York was named as the Championship Club of the Year.

## Results
### Championship
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PP | Pts | PCT | Qualification |
| 1 | Toulouse Olympique | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 698 | 124 | 562.9 | 28 | 100.00 | Championship Leaders' Shield & advance to semi-final |
| 2 | Featherstone Rovers | 21 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 943 | 292 | 322.9 | 38 | 90.48 | Advance to semi-final |
| 3 | Halifax Panthers | 21 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 528 | 354 | 149.2 | 26 | 61.90 | Advance to eliminators |
| 4 | Batley Bulldogs | 21 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 561 | 411 | 136.5 | 26 | 61.90 | Advance to eliminators |
| 5 | Bradford Bulls | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 514 | 501 | 102.6 | 24 | 60.00 | Advance to eliminators |
| 6 | Whitehaven | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 502 | 524 | 95.8 | 25 | 56.82 | Advance to eliminators |
| 7 | London Broncos | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 552 | 579 | 95.3 | 21 | 52.50 | |
| 8 | Widnes Vikings | 21 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 494 | 534 | 92.5 | 19 | 45.24 | |
| 9 | York City Knights | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 502 | 477 | 105.2 | 18 | 45.00 | |
| 10 | Dewsbury Rams | 21 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 360 | 608 | 59.2 | 17 | 40.48 | |
| 11 | Newcastle Thunder | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 431 | 627 | 68.7 | 15 | 37.50 | |
| 12 | Sheffield Eagles | 20 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 420 | 665 | 63.2 | 13 | 32.50 | |
| 13 | Oldham | 21 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 308 | 748 | 41.2 | 5 | 11.90 | Relegated to League 1 |
| 14 | Swinton Lions | 22 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 404 | 773 | 52.3 | 5 | 11.36 | Relegated to League 1 |
* ↑ Teams must have played at least 70% of scheduled fixtures (16 matches) to qualify for the play-offs. Fixtures involving Toulouse that are cancelled due to quarantine restrictions do not count against either team involved in respect of the 70% requirement.
* 1 2 Toulouse were awarded the fixture against London scheduled for 17 April after London declined to travel to France. Toulouse are awarded the two competition points and for points scored percentage the score is recorded as a 24–0 win for Toulouse. The game does not count towards the number of games played by London to determine eligibility for the play-offs
* 1 2 Featherstone deducted 2 points for breach of the RFL Operational Rules in March 2021.
* 1 2 London deducted 2 points for breach of the RFL Operational Rules in failing for fulfil the fixture against Toulouse in April 2021.

#### Championship results

W Win D Draw L Loss – Postponed/Cancelled/Expunged
Championship results :
| Date and Time | MW | Versus | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | TV | Report |

### Challenge Cup / 1895 Cup

In the 2021 season, the Challenge Cup and RFL 1895 Cup used a format where the four sides which progressed from the second round of the Challenge Cup qualified for the 1895 Cup semi-finals.
W Win L Loss
Challenge Cup / 1895 Cup results :
| Date and Time | Round | Round | Versus | H/A | Venue* | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | TV | Report |
| Date and Time | Challenge Cup | 1895 Cup | Versus | H/A | Venue* | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | TV | Report |
| 19 March, 7:45pm | 1 | 1 | Sheffield Eagles | A | Keepmoat Stadium | W | 30–6 | Whiteley (2), Brining, Jones-Bishop, Atkins | K. Dixon (5) | Behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic | The Sportsman | |
| 28 March, 2:30pm | 2 | 2 | London Broncos | A | The Rock | W | 14–2 | Porter, Salter | K. Dixon (3) | Behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic | BBC Red Button | |
| 9 April, 7:45pm | 3 | — | Wigan Warriors | H | York Community Stadium | L | 0–26 | | | Behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic | The Sportsman | |
| 7 June | — | Semi-final | Swinton Lions | H | York Community Stadium | W | 36–22 | Salter, Stock, Atkins, Brining, Kirmond, Lewis | K. Dixon (6) | | The Sportsman | |
| 17 July | — | Final | Featherstone Rovers | N | Wembley Stadium | L | 34–41 | Jones-Bishop, Stock, Brining, Bass, Lewis, Whiteley | K. Dixon (5) | | BBC Red Button | |

## Players
### 2021 transfers

Gains
List of players joining York :
| Player | Club | Contract | Date |
| Ryan Atkins | Wakefield Trinity | 1 Year | September 2020 |
| Daniel Barcoe | Wakefield Trinity | 1 Year | September 2020 |
| Adam Cuthbertson | Leeds Rhinos | 1 Year | September 2020 |
| Kieran Dixon | London Broncos | 1 Year | November 2020 |
| Harry Dodd | Wakefield Trinity | 1 Year | September 2020 |
| Danny Kirmond | Wakefield Trinity | 1 Year | September 2020 |
| Tyme Nikau | North Wales Crusaders | 1 Year | September 2020 |
| Brendan O'Hagan | Wests Tigers | 1 Year | October 2020 |
| Morgan Smith | London Broncos | 1 Year | September 2020 |
| Ben Jones-Bishop | Wakefield Trinity | 1 Year | January 2021 |
| Riley Dean | Warrington Wolves | Season Loan | February 2021 |
Losses
List of players leaving York :
| Player | Club | Contract | Date |
| Brad Hey | Hunslet RLFC | 1 Year | September 2020 |
| Ben Johnston | Doncaster RLFC | 2 Years | September 2020 |
| Josh Jordan-Roberts | Rochdale Hornets | 2 Years | August 2020 |
| Connor Robinson | Halifax Panthers | 2 Years | September 2020 |
| Elliot Wallis | Hull KR Loan Expiry / Bradford Bulls | 1 Year | November 2020 |
| Will Sharp | Released | | |