York Knights tie down prop Jack Martin until the end of 2029

York Knights have extended the contract of prop Jack Martin until the end of the 2029 season. The news was reported by BBC Sport on 4 November 2026, and the club confirmed the deal on its own website the same day.

Martin is 25 and Australian. A prop is one of the big forwards who lines up in the front row of the scrum, the tight knot of players that restarts play after certain stoppages. Props also do a lot of the unglamorous work in rugby league, running hard into contact and making ground when the ball is in their hands.

Martin was available for every game York played in 2026. He featured in all 30 of the club's matches, which is a rare level of availability over a long season. For a player who spends most of his time in the thick of the contact, that is no small thing.

His season earned him more than a new contract. The club named him York Knights' player of the year, a vote of confidence from the people who watch him week in, week out. The club's announcement also said the extension was supported by Squad Builder, the scheme that backed the deal.

For York supporters, the immediate effect is simple. Their most-used forward is staying put for three more seasons, the 2027, 2028 and 2029 campaigns. Clubs value that kind of continuity, because a settled pack of forwards gets to know each other's habits in training and on the field, and that familiarity can matter when a match gets tight.

Plenty of players finish a season with a new deal on the table. Fewer finish one having played every minute of it. Martin's extension shows that the club wants him for the long haul, and he has signalled the same. The next test is whether he can keep up that workload when the 2027 fixtures arrive.