Wakefield Trinity boss Daryl Powell says he isn’t concerned about his side’s defeat to Leeds Rhinos, and is glad that all of his senior players pulled through the game without injury.
Trinity were defeated 18-10 by the Rhinos, with Jayden Myers and Isaiah Vagana crossing for tries, but Powell is not reading too much into his side’s efforts at Headingley.
Speaking to the media after the game, the boss said there wasn’t a lot of things he could take out of the game, but one thing that was noticeable was the change in ruck speed, and how it was a lot quicker than it was across the season, a change the RFL are looking to make permanent going forward.
He said: “It’s hard. I’m not sure you get that much out of it to be honest. For me, it’s more for the fans this. It’s hard for players, both teams picked pretty scratchy teams, with a lot of young players in there and a few senior boys mixed in.
“I don’t think we got a lot out of it. There’s a little bit around the ruck area, and how it’s going to be managed this year, which you can see is a bit different, so it’s probably a little bit of that for some individual players.
“It gives players a chance to sit down and look at a couple of bits, but we’re not going to do much on the back of that. Maybe just the ruck area and the way referees interpretate that this year.
Caius Faatili looked to pick up a knock to his hand in the first half, but seemed to be able to shake it off. Jack Sinfield took a shot to the ribs, but likewise was able to pull through.
On the injury front, he said: “We look alright. That was one of the key things, we get through pretty healthy. Harvey [Smith] got a little bit with his toe, but went back on. Apart from that, I think we’re okay. We’re going on camp on January 3, so it’s pretty important we’re okay for that.”
Smith was singled out by Powell for his efforts, with the young hooker praised for his efforts in both the game and pre-season as a whole.
He said: “He’s probably had a standout pre-season for us. Physically, he’s growing. I made him captain today, he deserved it with this pre-season. I thought he showed today that he’s a proper player, physically and how he handles it and he’s got speed that a lot of other nines don’t have.”
The change in ruck speed will only help Smith’s game, believes Powell. He said: “Obviously we’ve got Tyson [Smoothy] who didn’t play today who’s been awesome for not only our team, but for Harvey as well.
“Harvey’s game opens up, and he showed that when he gets through the middle there out of dummy half, when he gets a quick ruck he’ll be a real threat for other teams.”
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