“IT’S not very often you’re allowed to go knocking policeman about!”

So joked new York Acorn boss Antony Chilton as he prepares to take charge of his first match against GB Police in the opening round of the Challenge Cup on Sunday.

The sides will be hoping that it is second time lucky for their first-round tie, which was postponed last weekend due to a frozen pitch at St Helens-based Portico Vine.

“It’s anyone’s guess how we’re going to do,” Chilton, who took over from Josh Mortimer in November, told The Press.

“I want us to be really disciplined. The ball’s going to be muddy, the pitch is going to be boggy, but if we just keep our errors and penalties down, we should be able to get a result.

“We’ve been working quite hard on how we’re going to play in training, and I just want everyone to put that into practice now and see how they go.

“Everyone’s been missing the rugby fixtures, we’re going to turn up, be really physical and try and knock them about a bit. It’s not very often you’re allowed to go around knocking policeman about!”

With Chilton hanging up his boots for good this time, Acorn have a number of new recruits - including several from York St John University - and have also welcomed back popular figure Nathan Conroy for 2025.

“We’ve lost a couple of players but gained a couple of players and obviously I’ve stopped playing,” he explained. “So there’s going to be new people in that position and we’ve got a new spine as well.”

“But it’s quite exciting to see how we’re going to go because of all the new players, but hopefully they’ll go really well.

“We don’t know much about them to be honest, but as long as we can do our jobs and everyone takes it seriously we can win.

“The draw for the second round is that we’d have a home tie, and we’re comfortable at home. Round three for us is the target, but we’ve first got to get this one out of the way and not look past round one.”

Acorn made history by reaching the fifth round of last year’s Challenge Cup, seeing off League One side Cornwall on their way to setting up a trip to the Championship’s Halifax Panthers.

York Acorn had the opportunity to play at Halifax Panthers' Shay Stadium last season. (Image: Craig Hawkhead) Though their remarkable run came to an end with a 62-6 defeat at The Shay, the amateur side could hold their heads high, with Chilton’s late consolation nothing more than their efforts had deserved.

Should they beat GB Police on Sunday, their reward will be a home tie against either London Chargers or Oulton Raiders, with Super League side Hull FC potential visitors to the Thanet Road club in round three.

“Obviously last year was brilliant,” Chilton reflected. “We still talk about it now when we mention the Challenge Cup.

“The year before we were at Bradford, and it’s just such a surreal feeling walking out at stadiums like Odsal and The Shay, and as captain as well taking my son out as a mascot.

“I look back at the pictures now and it’s like ‘what has happened! How did we end up doing that!

“Mine obviously was a consolation try, but to score past the likes of Gareth Widdop, you don’t really expect that to happen.

“This year though, the likelihood is we’re not going to get to round five, it’s not far off impossible now. But if we get to round three, I’d probably say it’s the biggest tie we’ve ever had, being at home and playing a Super League team.”

A new Challenge Cup format has seen the 12 top-flight clubs enter the draw at the third-round stage, where they have all been drawn away from home.

And the impact such a shake-up will have on community clubs is not lost on Chilton.

“It’s massive,” he admitted.

“It hasn’t been as good lately with the numbers in the stadiums, with some of the teams it’s probably lower than it used to be.

“But we’ve never come up against a Super League team. If we’re the home team and come up against a Super League side, especially someone of Hull’s calibre, they bring support everywhere they go and it just pumps a bit of money back into the club so we can do what we need to do.”

Not only could Hull FC be heading to York, so could beaten Grand Finalists Hull KR, who will travel to the winners of the second-round tie between York Knights and Keighley Cougars.

That’s a prospect that has got tongues wagging, with Chilton adding: “It’s so good. Rugby is getting better and better in York, and I think all the amateur clubs are doing really well, from junior up to open age.

“New Earswick have also had a really big shake-up and hopefully they’ll improve too, which will be good for the city.

“To have both Hull clubs come together in the city on the same weekend, not many would have predicted that.”