Upbeat boss Chris Chester bidding to plug injury gaps at Wakefield Trinity

INJURY-HIT WAKEFIELD Trinity want to bring a player in before their Betfred Super League campaign begins next week.
Wakefield's Kelepi Tanginoa.Wakefield's Kelepi Tanginoa.
Wakefield's Kelepi Tanginoa.

Dave Fifita and Tinirau Arona remain on the casualty list from last year and Wakefield were also without George King (knee), Ben Jones-Bishop (ill), Adam Tangata (ribs), Chris Green (ankle), Jacob Miller (ankle) and Matty Ashurst (back) when they were beaten 16-4 by Huddersfield Giants in their final warm-up fixture yesterday.

To make matters worse, Alex Walker and Yusuf Aydin both picked up an ankle injury and had to be helped from the field in the second half.

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Trinity travel to Hull KR in round one next Friday and Chester revealed: “We are looking for some reinforcements before a ball has even been kicked in Super League.”

Wakefield's Yusuf Aydin.Wakefield's Yusuf Aydin.
Wakefield's Yusuf Aydin.

He said: “If we bring an extra body in to cover the middle, I’ll be pretty pleased.

“I have got a couple of players in mind.

“We missed out on Leilani Latu [who Warrington Wolves have signed from Gold Coast Titans].

“He is a player we looked at quite a number of months ago, but there are some other targets we are looking at.

Wakefield's Alex Walker.Wakefield's Alex Walker.
Wakefield's Alex Walker.

“We will see what the next [24] hours bring.

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“We’ll know more about the injuries. We went with a much deeper squad this year than we have in recent years, just in case things like this happened, but the positive is we’ll slowly start getting some important players back over the next couple of weeks.”

Trinity’s biggest problems are in the pack. Chester added: “I think at the start of pre-season we had nine front-rowers and we are down to two at the minute.

“It’s not ideal.”

Green is facing six weeks out of action, but Tangata, Ashurst and Miller are expected to be fit for round one.

Chester also confirmed Trinity are hoping to agree a long-term deal with “special talent” Kelepi Tanginoa who joined them midway through last year from Manly Sea Eagles.

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“He has been brilliant from day one,” the coach said of Trinity’s Australian-born forward.

“He is an unbelievable talent and the sooner we get him tied down to a long-term deal the happier everyone will be.

“He is such an important player – and such a nice guy as well.

“He needs other players to follow his lead – you get a nine out of 10 every week from him.”

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Despite Wednesday’s scoreline and the injuries, Chester is remaining upbeat ahead of next week.

Trinity returned from warm-weather training in Spain two days before facing Giants and the coach felt a nightmare, storm-hit journey back to England had an effect on their performance.

“There’s things we need to work on,” conceded Chester, “but you don’t get two points for that game.

“I am not too downbeat when you look at the quality we’ve got sitting on the sidelines.

“Once those guys come back we will be stronger.”