Mark Applegarth reveals if David Fifita will debut this weekend

Mark Applegarth has had his say on Wakefield Trinity’s shock signing of David Fifita after he left the club last year.

“Yeah, well, Dave’s someone I know really well. He’s been at the club for a number of years, or was at the club for a number of years,” he said on BBC Radio.

“It’s fair to say that we’ve been needing a bit of go forward in his pack. When we started getting a couple more injuries, we were just chatting casually about all the things, things and I just said, listen, is there any chance that you could come back on a short-term stint to help me out and help the team out?

“It’s a club close to his heart. He knows what sort of predicament we’re in at the moment. So he said, yes, I’m just going to get a deal sorted and that. I’ll come back over and do what I can for you.

“So really, really chuffed that we’ve got him back. It’s been a massive lift for the lads in the dressing room and also for the people around the club. Seeing a player of Dave’s calibre come back and hopefully he’ll add a much-needed boost.

“He felt he could offer something still, so once we realised it was a possibility and he got things sorted on his end with his work and obviously his family, pretty easy to sort from there. That was Michael leading from that sense, I was just purely from the coaching and playing side of things.

“So, you know, I’ve got to thank the board for helping get that sorted as well. Obviously a fan’s favourite and a big personality.”

Applegarth then confirmed that Fifita could play against Leigh Leopards on Sunday at the Magic Weekend: “Yeah, as long as there’s no issues. I mean we’ve got a few bumps and bruises as we have done and a lot of other clubs have done. So we need to strengthen our middle with Kelepi dropping especially with that broken arm who could have played middle as well. So yeah, all being well, he’ll be in the 21-man squad.”