Phil Clarke on how good Super League strugglers would be if they signed Bevan French

Wakefield Trinity are doing it tough at the moment.

Yet to win a game, in 75% of their matches this year they have failed to score more than one try.

Meanwhile, in five games they have failed to score at all.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Phil Clarke expressed sympathy for Wakefield believing that they are playing as well as they can but don’t have the players needed to score points.

He said: “Wakefield I think they are almost playing as well as they can play. They just need some line breakers and try scorers.”

He then went on to say that if Wakefield had someone like Bevan French or even former star Tom Johnstone they would be in a different position:

“If Bevan French was playing for the Wakefield side, they’d have plenty more tries and would have won some matches.

“If Tom Johnstone had been on the wing they’d score more.

“For what they’ve got, they are doing remarkably well. And their performance having lost 11 games was admirable.”

It is important to remember that Johnstone’s replacement Lewis Murphy who is headed to the NRL in 2024 suffered a nasty ACL injury which ruled him out for the season.

Perhaps things would be different if he and Max Jowitt were available.

In Jowitt’s only appearance in 2024, Trinity scored a season best 24 points.