'A good future': Wakefield Trinity boss hails Leeds Rhinos rookies, aims to pile pressure on in derby clash

Luke Hooley and Leon Ruan, who have been named in Leeds’ initial squad, both spent time in Trinity’s system, under Applegarth, but left without making a first team appearance.

Full-back Hooley moved on to Batley Bulldogs and made his top-flight debut for Rhinos in March, while Ruan, a second-rower who spent last year with Doncaster, is still waiting for a Super League chance.

Applegarth recalled: “I signed Leon into our [Wakefield’s] scholarship and I coached Luke in the academy.

“They are both kids I know well. I really like both of them and I think they’ve both got a good future in the game.

“I didn’t want to let Luke go from Wakefield, but how things were then, they decided it was right to let him go.

“It would have been great to see them doing well for Wakefield, but it’s good to see them kicking on and making a name for themselves.

“It’s good to see kids you’ve been involved with in a coaching capacity get the rewards for the hard work they’ve put in.”

The fact Hooley and Ruan are in contention this week reflects Rhinos’ recent injury problems.

They have lost five of their last six games and were beaten by second-bottom Castleford Tigers at Magic Weekend, increasing the pressure on Wakefield who went six points adrift.

However, Applegarth Rhinos are a “quality outfit. He said: “They have some dangerous players throughout their ranks and we are expecting a very tough challenge, as we are every week.

“If you look through their squad numbers, they have some quality players in there still. If you let them get the offloads going, they are a really dangerous outfit to deal with.

“They are a good team, but we are just focusing on making sure our own standards are there, because last week our discipline let us down and that’s the first thing we’ve got to sort out.”

Wakefield also have a host of first-choice players missing and the Magic Weekend loss to Leigh Leopards was their 16th successive defeat, stretching back to the final game of last season.

“We are coming up with unforced errors and putting too much pressure on ourselves and lacking composure,” Applegarth admitted. “That comes with not winning so we have been focussing on ourselves and making sure we play how we want to play.

“We need to be the team that doesn’t buckle first. At the moment, if I was playing us I’d be saying ‘stick in there with them and they’ll buckle first’.

“We have got to make sure we buck that trend. The last time we played them it was [44] minutes before a point was scored.

“We need to match that sort of defensive intent we showed, but also make sure we start turning pressure into points and taking opportunities when they come.

“We want to see how teams respond if we get in front and they are chasing the game, because I don’t think we’ve been in that position this year.”