Wakefield Trinity boss explains missing players for Leeds Rhinos clash, hails squad and 'positive' pre-season

Seven new signings are included in a 22-man Boxing Day squad, alongside a mixture of established and fringe players, but Trinity will be without several key men for the annual Wetherby Whaler Festive Challenge. “We’ve got a couple of injuries,” Powell confirmed.

“Thomas Doyle has had an operation on his shoulder and Josh Griffin has had an operation on his groin. Tom Johnstone had a bone break which he is still recovering from. He is getting better.

“Mike McMeeken played international and people like Liam Hood and Jay Pitts, our senior players who only finished [last season] at the Grand Final, I am just leaving them out. I don’t see any need to play those guys. It is a mixed bag really; we will start pretty strong and, like it does in these games, will sort of taper off a little bit.”

Trinity beat Toulouse Olympique in the Championship Grand Final on October 19 and the late finish meant a delayed start to pre-season, but Powell described preparations so far as “really good”. He said: “This is our fifth week and it has been going well - working hard, a great set of blokes. You never really know until you get into it, but I’ve been through a fair few pre-seasons and this is a decent one, really positive so far.”

The coach confirmed all Trinity’s recruits are settling in “really well” and he is keen to see former Gold Coast Titans forward Seth Nikotemo in live action for the first time. With Trinity retaining their overseas contingent, he is the only recruit from abroad ahead of 2025.

Powell said: “He has settled pretty well. He’s a good guy and for a young fella really mature and well-balanced. It is a strong, positive group - I am really pleased with the squad we’ve put together and they’ve knitted together really well.”

Though Trinity’s Super League opener - at Leeds on Saturday, February 15 - is still seven weeks away, Powell reckons the Christmas fixture is a useful exercise. “It is early, obviously,” he said. “Some players really look forward to a game and some feel they’d benefit more from a longer pre-season but it is what it is.

“I think we’re pretty excited by it and looking forward to it. Leeds have put pretty much their strongest squad out, barring a couple of players, so it is a good chance for us to go and test ourselves.

“After the couple of years Wakefield have had - one getting relegated and then one really positive one - it gives us an opportunity to see where we are at against a team who’ll feel positive they’ve got the right man as coach.

“Brad [Arthur] has got a good reputation and they’ll feel this should be a decent year for them. For us, we’ll just go and really challenge Leeds, find out where we are at and find out whether things we’ve been working on in pre-season have stuck yet or not.”