Featherstone Rovers 'promotion favourites' says Wakefield Trinity boss Mark Applegarth

Wakefield Trinity want and expect a stern test from visitors and ‘promotion favourites’ Featherstone Rovers this weekend, coach Mark Applegarth says.
By Peter Smith
Published 28th Jan 2023, 06:00 GMT
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Trinity have won their opening two pre-season games, against Leeds Rhinos on Boxing Day and Halifax Panthers two weeks ago.

But Rovers, under new coaches Sean Long and Leon Pryce, have made a similar start, beating Castleford Tigers before hammering Hull KR 28-0 last weekend and Applegreth said: “I thought they were excellent”.

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The boss noted: “You can see Sean and Leon have done a cracking job, they look very threatening ball in hand, especially the back-five with their link up play.

Wakefield Trinity coach Mark Applegarth. Picture by Steve Riding.Wakefield Trinity coach Mark Applegarth. Picture by Steve Riding.
Wakefield Trinity coach Mark Applegarth. Picture by Steve Riding.

“We are expecting a very tough test. I think they will be favourites for the Championship this year so we are looking forward to it. It’s just what you need in a pre-season friendly.

“The main thing is everyone gets what they need from it and we get through as injury-free as we can.”

Trinity begin their Betfred Super League campaign at home to Catalans Dragons on Friday, February 17 and assessing areas for improvement, Applegarth said: “I thought we needed to do quite a bit after the Boxing Day game.

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“There were quite a few holes in our game that we knew were there because we hadn’t covered them in full detail.

Featherstone's Chris Hankinson, right, with Luke Gale of Keighley at this week's Championship launch. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.Featherstone's Chris Hankinson, right, with Luke Gale of Keighley at this week's Championship launch. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.
Featherstone's Chris Hankinson, right, with Luke Gale of Keighley at this week's Championship launch. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

“We’ve been doing a lot of team-on-team stuff since Boxing Day, which I thought we saw against Halifax.

“We’ve just been trying to polish that, make that more refined and ensure our execution is on point and we are more disciplined on our transitions. That’s what we’ll be looking at on Sunday.”

Rovers coach Long is happy with the way his players are adapting to new systems. He said: “That's what I’ve been most pleased about – I haven’t mentioned results or who we're playing, I just wanted to look at us and whether what we've been doing in training is working.“Defence-wise, edge-wise, attack-wise and the ‘takes no talent’ stuff, I wanted to see all that.“We've had two decent wins, but that’s gone. Nobody will remember a friendly if you don’t do anything in the season.”Wakefield Trinity: Jowitt, Lineham, Hall, Lyne, Murphy, Gaskell, Lino, Antoni, Hood, Proctor, Pitts, Ashurst, Battye. Subs Kay, Langi, Eseh, Windrow, Butler, Law.

Referee: Nick Bennett (Wakefield).

Kick-off: Sunday, 2pm.

Related topics:Featherstone RoversWakefield TrinitySuper LeagueLeeds RhinosHalifax Panthers