Coach urges 'impeccable' performance as Wakefield Trinity face 'biggest challenge in rugby league' at Hull KR

Seventh-placed Trinity are on a high after beating Betfred Super League defending champions Wigan Warriors last week, but coach Daryl Powell reckons they are “second-favourites by a distance” against the table-toppers. “We have got so many players missing and they are flying at the moment,” Powell stated.

“They won the Challenge Cup, they are top of the table by four points and they are obviously huge favourites in this. Everything would point towards winning this game, but we will wait and see.”

Assessing what makes the Robins so strong, Powell noted: “They’ve got a lot of maturity in the team, they’ve been together a long time and they’ve got all their key players still out there. They’ve got a couple missing, but they can cover those pretty well with the depth they’ve got.

“They have done super-well. They are a top-quality team, they’ve been building for a number of years and they are in a place where they are challenging for everything. The league leaders’ shield looks like it’s theirs to lose, everybody’s saying the Grand Final is nailed on and they’ve won the Challenge Cup.

“It is a really intense environment - probably the most in Super League. It will be absolutely rammed and their supporters are pretty vociferous, but it would be a phenomenal achievement if we could go there and win. The odds are stacked against us, but our confidence is growing week to week with the performances we are putting in even in defeat.

“We played Hull KR in round two and acquitted ourselves pretty well - we were a goal kick away from golden-point. We know how difficult the challenge is, but we should be excited by it and I think we are. We are excited to go there and see what we can do against the best team in the comp.”

Powell stressed his team will need to start well in such a hostile environment and everyone - including the match officials - has to be on top of their game. “They are scoring more points than anyone else in the first 10 minutes of games,” he warned.

“That is key, otherwise the hostile nature just grows. You have got to try to dampen that, then your fans can come into it and it becomes an awkward environment for the home team. We have got to be impeccable to do that.

“It is one of those places where you go and it’s bouncing. For opposition teams, you know you have to be right at your best, every single person - coaching staff, players, the referee. It is an intense environment so Jack Smith has got his hands full. He has to make sure he is straight down the line under a bit of pressure. Everybody has to deal with pressure. That’s always the case when you go there. The heat’s going to be on and we have to be able to deal with it.”