Wakefield Trinity can handle relegation derby pressure v Castleford Tigers says coach Mark Applegarth
Wakefield Trinity coach Mark Applegarth insists Friday’s home derby with Castleford Tigers isn’t a relegation decider.
The losers will find themselves two points adrift at the bottom of Betfred Super League, with only five games remaining, but Applegarth insists there are more twists and turns to come.
“We are just focusing week by week,” he stressed. “People were asking about this one two weeks ago, before the Hull game.
“I said then we’d focus on Castleford when it came around to it and we are doing that now, but there’s still a lot of rugby to be played after it.
“It is a game with significance because you can get a two-point advantage on your nearest rivals, but it’s pointless just focusing on this one and not the others that come after it. We want the two points, but there’s still six games to go and it’s important to put that into context.”
Trinity remain bottom of the table, but - for the first time this season - are no longer favourites for the drop.
Castleford sit one place better off on points difference, but four wins from their last seven games have convinced the bookies Trinity are more likely to stay up.
Those victories have come in successive home matches and they are facing a Tigers team who have not won at an opponent’s ground this year.
The derby is set to attract a full house and Applegarth is confident his men can cope with the pressure .
“They know themselves how important it is,” he stated. “It is exciting too, it is a local derby and every time you play a derby game you should be excited.
“We are looking forward to hopefully putting in a good performance in front of our own crowd and we’re just making sure we focus on ourselves and hit our own standards.”
Trinity could give a third debut to Josh Griffin, following his move from Hull and Jai Whitbread is back in contention.
Wakefield were crushed 42-4 in their previous match, at Hull and Applegarth accepts they can’t afford a repeat performance this week.
“There were a few areas we felt we needed to fix up,” he conceded. “We’ve worked hard on tidying them up and we’ll put our best foot forward on Friday.
“I am really confident in our group, I think we’ve got a good bunch and we are focusing on staying tight as a group and making sure we can look each other in the eye at the end of each week and know we’ve put our best foot forward.”
A minute’s applause will be held before kick off in memory of former Wakefield coach Shane McNally, whose death, aged 69, was announced this week.
Applegarth played at Trinity under McNally, an Australian who was coach from 2002-2005. He said: “He was a great man, I have nothing but massive respect for him.
“I wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for Shane McNally. The guidance he gave me - on and off the field - as a young man is something I will remember for the rest of my life.
“I kept in contact with him two, three, four times a year and still listened to his advice. My thoughts are with his family back home.”