Past players to attend Hull KR game as Wakefield Trinity pay emotional tribute to late coach John Kear

Kear, who died suddenly on Monday, aged 71, was in charge of Trinity from 2006-2011, famously saving them from what appeared to be certain relegation after just six games in the hot seat. He retired from coaching last year, but worked this season as a matchday host at Wakefield’s DIY Kitchens Stadium, Belle Vue.

Trinity will hold a minute’s silence before the match, which will be attended by many of those who played under Kear at Wakefield, plus former teammates from his days as a winger at Castleford Tigers. Wakefield coach Daryl Powell told his pre-match press conference today (Friday): “There’s quite a few of our boys who’ve been coached by John at different times during their career.

“I knew him really well throughout my career, he coached me with international teams and latterly he interviewed me every other week, every home game. I was pretty devastated when I heard, it was really tough news.

“Seventy-one is pretty young. I’ve been [moved by] just how many people have spoken about John and what he was like as a character and a coach and a player. As a coach he did some pretty iconic things.

“As a person and as a coach, I had such a lot of admiration and respect for him and what he has done. I texted Dawn [Kear’s wife] the other day to pass on how we feel as a club, which is the same as everybody else. It is a tough time.”

Part of Kear’s role as a Trinity host was to interview Powell before games. The current coach said: “He was a top-quality bloke, I loved talking to him and being interviewed by him. He was an insightful guy, as everyone would know listening to him on the BBC. He was awesome.”

He added: “He’d always talk about what we were doing as a team and he was interested in how players were playing; he was a deep thinker on the game and it was always good to talk to him. He asked pretty smart questions and was always referencing how difficult it was for me to be up there straight before a game.

“He was really good, the same as when he was on TV. He has done that for years and always been outstanding at it. He was just a great person to be around; a great personality, a great sense of humour and he just loved life. He loved being around rugby league. It is tough to lose him so early.”

Trinity will try to keep emotion out of the game itself, but Powell hopes his side will play in Kear’s spirit tomorrow. He added: “John meant different things to a lot of players. Not everybody would have known him like some of us do. I think if you can harness it, playing in respect of John would be a great way to play. I am sure quite a lot of us will grab hold of some of that in the lead up to the game and I think the fans are going to pay their own respects - they remember John in such a positive way.”