Leeds Rhinos coach Brad Arthur's glowing assessment of Wakefield Trinity ahead of top-2 Super League derby

Rhinos are top of Betfred Super League, two points ahead of second-placed Trinity who won two of the teams’ three meetings last year. It’s one victory each this season after Leeds were knocked out of the Challenge Cup at DIY Kitchens Stadium, Belle Vue, in March, but won a home league encounter two months later.

Hosts Wakefield are on a seven-game winning run and Arthur is under no illusions about the scale of the task facing his team. “They are going well and backing it up on a week to week basis,” he said of Daryl Powell-coached Trinity.

“They start well and finish games strong, they move the ball around and score plenty of points, showed plenty of grit and toughness with 12 men a couple of weeks ago and they play really well at home. It is a really good contest we are looking forward to and another good challenge and test for us.”

Of what has impressed him about Trinity this year, Arthur insisted: “They are well-coached, they obviously know exactly what each other’s role is and how they contribute to each other and I think they do a good job from one-17, all doing their job and playing well - a real team performance.

“I think we are similar. We showed last weekend, every one of our 17 players really owned their job and that just makes life easier and gives you better output in your team performance.”

Trinity returned to Super League last term after one campaign in the Championship, but Arthur hasn’t been surprised by their rate of progress. “I thought they had a really good season last year,” he said.

“They showed a lot of potential. They were obviously disappointed with how they played in their final match, but they learned a lot from that. They have done a really good job; they probably started a bit slow this year, throughout their trials and their first couple of games, but of late they have been one of the form teams.”

Arthur said intensity in training has lifted as the game approaches. He insisted: “We don’t need to dress it up too much. All the players are aware of the occasion and aware that last time we under-performed at Wakey, but our focus is just making sure we continue to repeat the performances we get when we come with the right mentality.”

Tomorrow’s derby is followed by a short turnaround to a Thursday home fixture against sixth-placed Leigh Leopards and the next eight days could be crucial to the outcome of Rhinos’ season. “Every week has been important for us,” Arthur stressed.

“Every time you win a game, the next game becomes more important to make sure you keep that momentum. You work hard to get yourself in a good, strong position, but it’s even harder to stay there.

“We are quite aware of that. We have worked hard and need to keep working hard against a couple of good quality oppositions over the next fortnight.”