"IF other teams are going to hit my players, I won't tell them not to hit back."

So declared York City Knights boss James Ford after the latest battle of Bootham Crescent saw his side beat arch-rivals Hunslet Hawks 32-24 to go joint-second in League One, Danny Nicklas starring with 20 points.

The Knights had Josh Tonks controversially sin-binned midway through the second half for an alleged "crusher" tackle and ended the game with 11 men after Ben Dent and Jack Aldous were yellow-carded following two separate all-in brawls inside a minute, the second of which also saw Hunslet's Jake Normington sent off.

But, despite the man disadvantage, some big-hitting defence saw them hold on for the victory which lifted them level on points with Rochdale and kept them only two behind leaders Toulouse.

Asked about the cards, Ford said: "I think the inconsistencies from the bloke controlling the game probably frustrated people. It was a physical game and it boiled over.

"If other teams are going to hit my players, I won't tell them not to hit back.

"If players are going to take liberties with my players, we'll front up.

"If people hit my half-backs and my middles don't do anything about it, they won't be playing."

The Tonks incident, in which a touch judge notified referee Warren Turley, took place in front of the Pop Stand where Ford and assistant Will Leatt were sat.

"I was right in front of it and it was a really poor call from the linesman," said Ford.

"Some more ridiculous calls have gone against us.

"I thought the officials as a trio started the second half really well but lost composure."

Dent was sin-binned after a set-to on the ground with Hawks full-back Jimmy Watson. Aldous followed after an all-in brawl following an alleged high tackle.

Said Ford: "Ben's tackled him aggressively on the floor. If it's a penalty, why? Tackling someone too hard? It seemed very strange at best.

"There are some big, strong, aggressive blokes and if they lose composure it's going to boil over. I'm not going to penalise my players for defending themselves.

"If another team want to step over the line, we won't step over it - we'll jump over it."

Asked if he thought victory was in danger as they played out the last nine minutes a man down, he said: "I've got an awful lot of confidence in our defensive attitude.

"I knew Hunslet would have to pull something out of the bag as we've got so much desire and pride in our performance."

Nicklas, inconsistent with his goalkicking this term, kicked six from six attempts this time, to add to two tries, the second of which made it 32-24 soon after Hunslet had cut the cap to 26-24 while Tonks was off the field.

Asked if that try was particularly important to halt the Hawks' roll-on, Ford said: "It's always important to score but it's also important to tidy up your play fives and to stop giving officials opportunities to penalise you.

"We were taking so many metres out of Hunslet that the game was, in my opinion, never in question. We just needed to tidy up our discipline and play fives."

York had trailed 12-0 and 18-12. Ford added: "My players worked overtime for one another, but we put ourselves under so much pressure. We conceded seven penalties on play five. You can blame referees but we need to take the decisions out of their hands.

"Hunslet had all the territory and possession in the first half, but we're very strong mentally and my players again dug in and found it from somewhere.

"Some of the hits we put in were outstanding. We were not as polished as normal but I'm still so proud of the players."