Super League coach makes big relegation statement

There has been a lot of talk about relegation.

Wakefield Trinity are the main strugglers without a win so far this season. At one stage people thought Hull FC looked in trouble but their uptick in form has, for now, left it a two horse race between Castleford Tigers and Wakefield.

Some believe it is a one horse race with Wakefield winless but Mark Applegarth has been adamant that he can keep Trinity afloat.

When asked, he said: “Yeah I do. I do think that there’s still a hell of a lot of rugby to be played and we’ve got a four point gap currently, things could change tomorrow but we’ve got a four point gap to claw back.

“If we can get them couple of wins on the board and start putting pressure on them teams around us so I’ve still got full belief that we can.

“I know that sounds probably different for a few people but we do think that. We know we’ve got to get better, we can’t keep on saying the same things and expect  a different outcome but the belief is still there.”

He was then asked if it is a bigger task than he first anticipated:

“No,” he replied, “I knew it was going to be a big one.

“We’re in that vicious cycle and  we have been since 2018, which I think was the last time we tasted a bit of playoffs, but we’ve then been hovering around them bottom spots.

“It’s the whole culture that needs a change so that we can break that five-year cycle that we’ve been in, and you could argue twenty-year cycle barring a few seasons here and there.

“Things are happening off the field and we’ve got to make sure that things happen on the field too.

“As a club we know we need to get better, I know I need to get better, the team know they need to get better and then we’ve got to set certain standards and if people don’t want to adhere to them or can’t then that’s when you make changes.”