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Wakefield Wildcats: Cats aim for league best
The 2009 vintage can confirm themselves as Wakefield Trinity Wildcats' best Super League team this evening.
A win or draw against Hull KR at Hearwell Stadium, Belle Vue, would take Wildcats above the 30-point mark achieved the only previous time they qualified for the play-offs, in 2004.
It would also lift Wildcats a place in the table, though their hopes of finishing fifth also depend on Wigan failing to beat Huddersfield Giants tomorrow afternoon.
"The stakes are high," Wildcats coach John Kear, above, said of today's final game of the regular campaign. There's the possibility of fifth place for us and third for Hull KR.
"We have kept raising the bar with our goals and one thing we've looked at is trying to break the record points total for Wakefield in Super League, which is 30.
"We feel we've done a good job equalling it, because we haven't had the favourable fixture list they had in 2004.
"We have had to work hard at it and we'd at least like a point to break it. We'd love both points to give ourselves an opportunity of finishing fifth."
Kear reckons his side – who have won five of their last six games – are
in good form and he doesn't feel a defeat today would have an adverse affect on their play-off prospects.
Rovers will travel east along the M62 knowing a victory would secure third place.
"They are a really good team," was Kear's assessment of today's opponents.
"I think they've got the best second-row pairing in Super League in Ben Galea and Clint Newton.
"They are very tough up front, they have clever pivots in Michael Dobson and Paul Cooke, Peter Fox has been a revelation and Shaun Briscoe is the England full-back.
"It should be an exceptional game and it would be good to get a good crowd, to witness that and acknowledge the players' superb efforts during the season."
Wildcats are without Brad Drew and Luke George, who failed fitness tests on knee injuries yesterday and join Sean Gleeson (fractured cheekbone) on the casualty list. Aaron Murphy, Frank Winterstein, Kyle Bibb, Dale Morton and James Davey all come into contention.
Ben Cockayne (foot), Jake Webster (hamstring) and Scott Murrell (broken hand) are all ruled out for Rovers, but Stanley Gene, Chaz I'Anson, Scott Taylor, Rhys Lovegrove and Ben Fisher come into the reckoning.
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats from: Blaymire, Grix, Demetriou, Atkins, Murphy, Brough, Obst, Stosic, Leo-Latu, Korkidas, Snitch, Wilkes, Ferguson, Henderson, Moore, Winterstein, Morton, Bibb, Davey.
Hull KR from: Briscoe, Fox, Welham, Walker, Colbon, Cooke, Dobson, Wheeldon, Fitzhenry, Vella, Newton, Galea, Gene, I'Anson, Netherton, Fozzard, Fisher, Taylor, Lovegrove.
Referee: Steve Ganson (St Helens).
Kick-off: Today, 6pm.
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
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Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
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