Wakefield Trinity coach pays tribute to 'class' rival, warns of big threat from 'no fear' York Knights
Wakefield Trinity coach Daryl Powell has hailed the man he took over from - and his rival tonight - as a “class act”.
Mark Applegarth had a season as Trinity boss before Powell was appointed ahead of the 2024 campaign. Applegarth, known as Mash, returned to coaching with York Knights and guided them to top spot in the Betfred Championship - and promotion to Super League - last year.
The two will go head to head when Trinity visit York this evening (Friday) and Powell is full of respect for his opponent. “He’s class,” the Wakefield coach said. “He had a tough time here, but everybody who speaks about Mash, it’s positive vibes.
“He’s a great fella, understands the game and works hard and I am really pleased for him that he has gone there and done well. He has got some good people around him, like Graham Steadman. They are rock steady, they have done a great job and they are in a good place.”
Trinity’s 21-man squad shows a single change to the one named ahead of last week’s win against Leigh Leopards, Tray Lolesio - who made his Betfred Super League debut in round five on loan at Bradford Bulls - replacing Will Tate. Powell, though, confirmed he is set to “tweak” his side for this evening, with Corey Hall’s return to the 17 being one alteration.
He said: “I am just looking for players to be consistent at the moment. I think we are sort of getting there; we can be better in some areas, but ultimately it is about winning games and we are doing that. This is an important game for us to keep that consistency.”
Scrum-half Mason Lino remains unavailable because of a hamstring injury, but Powell revealed he is “coming back to near full-fitness”.
York could be unchanged from last Friday’s one-point loss at Wigan Warriors. Ex-Trinity hooker Paul McShane suffered a hand injury during that game but has been included in their initial squad.
Powell coached McShane at Castleford Tigers and reckons he is one of Knights’ biggest threats, alongside ex-Warrington Wolves prop Paul Vaughan. He said: “You can play Macca anywhere, he is such a good player. He has got a great left-foot kicking game and he’s very clever out of nine.
“His knowledge of the game is excellent; he loves it, he is embedded in it and when he’s like that he is really dangerous. You have to be mindful of him and give him some work to do defensively. I think that is important, but he is a special player, no doubt.”
York have won two of their opening five Betfred Super League games so far Powell reckons they play with “no fear”. He warned: “They have built a really experienced squad who are working hard for each other. You have to be able to handle what they are going to throw at you, which is a fair bit. You have got to defend pretty well, but they are also conceding points. Our job is to fix the defensive side and be a bit more accurate with the ball.”
York Knights: from Mata'afa, Jones-Bishop, Wood, Galeano, Hingano, Martin, McShane, Vaughan, Griffin, Dee, Balmforth, Va'a, Sangare, Richardson, Field, Buchanan, Dagger, Williams, Cook, Nofoaluma.
Wakefield Trinity: from Jowitt, Pratt, Scott, Hall, Johnstone, Trueman, McMeeken, Smoothy, Rodwell, Nikotemo, Storton, Tevaga, Pitts, Hamlin-Uele, Faatili, Smith, Vagana, Sinfield, Myers, Rourke, Lolesio.
Referee: Tom Grant (Leeds). Kick-off: Friday, 8pm.