Wakefield Trinity showed enough to leave Daryl Powell feeling even more confident in his side, despite an 18-12 loss away to St Helens that came at a significant injury cost.
Trailing 16-0 in the first-half, Wakefield fought back to 18-12 but ultimately could not get the game-levelling score as Saints’ desperate defence and Trinity’s misfiring attack led to an error-laden final 10 minutes.
It means that Wakefield Trinity still have not beaten St Helens since their return to Super League but the gap is certainly getting closer and Daryl Powell was keen to state how impressed he was, despite the number of key players missing.
Mason Lino and Max Jowitt had both dropped out of the 21-man squad but Trinity also lost star winger Tom Johnstone ahead of the game and Powell noted the list of key players missing.
“Tom dropped out of the team today. He’s a cutting-edge player for us,” the head coach revealed post-match in a presser shared on the club’s YouTube channel.
“Isaiah Vagana (shoulder) has been unbelievable for us. Everybody in the comp has been talking about injuries and we’ve been alright-ish but we’ve got a couple at the moment, big players that are missing.
“Obviously, Mason (Lino) is missing and Max (Jowitt), so we’ve got a few players who are injured and I think in a healthy competition, we’re in a good spot and good place to go and get after the rest of the season.
“We should feel even more confident after today.”
Lino, Jowitt and possibly Tom Johnstone could be back for next week’s away trip to take on Leeds Rhinos at Headingley but Isaiah Vagana will miss out. As will fellow second-rower Seth Nikotemo, meaning Trin are without their two starting second-rowers for next week’s West Yorkshire derby.
Powell confirmed: “Seth got a concussion, so he failed the concussion (test) so we’re a couple of back-rowers down now.”
The second-rower had left the field on wobbly legs after making head contact with one of his teammates in an unfortunate tackle incident.
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