York’s Richie Myler could reach 400 career appearances on Sunday

It’s the quarter-finals of the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup this weekend and one of the four ties sees York Knights welcome League One’s Oldham to the LNER Community Stadium, in what is set to be an enticing encounter.

The Knights, who finished as the best second placed team in the group stages on points difference following a 114-10 thrashing over Newcastle Thunder, will take on Sean Long’s thriving Oldham outfit who topped Group 4 after pulling off a shock win over current cup holders Halifax Panthers, before easing past Rochdale Hornets. Both sides are now just two wins away from a famous day at Wembley.

And Sunday’s match could be a significant for another reason – if York’s newest playmaker Richie Myler is selected to play, this would see him make his 400th career appearance.

Former Super League star and England international Myler, who has notably played for the likes of Warrington, Catalans and Leeds, as well as starting out with Widnes and Salford, has enjoyed a remarkable rugby league career to date.

He made his debut with Widnes in 2007 before going on make a huge name for himself in the Warrington Wolves side. Over two decades, versatile Myler has matured into a strong leader and general in the halves, featured in numerous Challenge Cup and Super League Grand Finals and has snapped up a range of individual accolades along the way - including the 2020 Lance Todd Trophy for his impressive performance in the Rhinos’ Challenge Cup win of that same year.

Fast forward to 2024 and the 33-year-old has settled comfortably into life with Championship Play-Off contenders York Knights, and hopes he will be able to add to this existing array of success.

After sustaining a season-ending injury in July last year, Myler finally featured in York colours for the first time last weekend against York's defeat to Sheffield Eagles in Round 4 of the Challenge Cup. But he is now ready for another challenge when Andrew Henderson's men face Oldham in the 1895 Cup knockout stages.

Speaking in York’s press conference to BBC York, Forty20, and The York Press, Myler reflected on what he described as an “interesting” debut last Sunday despite the loss, the budding partnership with Liam Harris, and his time at York so far:

“I enjoyed the game (last week) as I was chomping at a grit to play, so I was glad to be out there. I’ve got one game under my belt and I’m looking forward to the season starting now. We’ve got a very talented and young squad that wants to achieve something.

“Coming to York I'd watched a fair bit of footage and Harris is such a great player and leader of the team, and it’s good to complement each other like that. I think the partnership will grow as the year goes on.

“The boys have been welcoming ever since I’ve come in and I’m really excited for where potentially this group could go – but we’re going to take it week by week.”

On the chance to reach the milestone of 400 career appearances at the weekend, Myler admitted that it’s taken a lot to get to this point, but he is more focused on sealing a win that would see his side just 80 minutes from Wembley's Finals Day in June:

“I don’t think anyone does,” Myler replied when asked if he ever thought he'd been playing this long. “I hit 300 Super League games last year and that was a big milestone, but to hit 400 actual career games – I didn’t realise I was that close to it until a couple of weeks ago.

“There are not many people who go over a certain figure of games, it’s quite an achievement to do that. And I’ve played for some very big teams in some very big matches which I’m very proud of.”

“But just as long as we get the win.”

Looking ahead to Sunday's quarter-final and their opposition in Oldham, who are the last League One team left standing in this cup competition, Myler recognises they are a side the Knights should not be taking lightly:

 “Oldham are a Championship side with the way they’ve recruited. I’ve worked with Sean Long when I when I was at Leeds and he’s a very good coach.

“They’re going to come here feeling very confident and wanting to win. We’re not looking past this week – we are a couple of games from Wembley and it would be very nice to go back there and play, but we’ve got a massive game against Oldham this week.

“We have to focus on ourselves. It will be a tough game for us on Sunday and we are prepping for a really tough game.”

A win for the Knights would see them just one game away from a second Wembley appearance in four years, after reaching the 1895 Cup Final in 2021. Oldham, on the other hand, will be seeking their first ever Wembley outing. Who will progress to the 1895 Cup semi-finals?

A full preview of the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Quarter Finals can be found here.

The AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final (KO 5.45pm) is part of a Finals Day triple-header at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 8 June, alongside the finals of the Betfred Women's Challenge Cup (KO 11.45am) and Men's 2024 Betfred Challenge Cup Final (KO 3pm). Plus, there will be the traditional Year 7 Boys’ Champion Schools Final at 10am. Tickets are available online now from only £15 Adults and £7.50 Under 16s, with family packages also available starting from just £18.75 for one Adult and two Under 16s.