Wakefield Trinity travelled to the KCOM Stadium today in good form and high spirits but they return to West Yorkshire after a heavy defeat at the hands of Hull FC, and with a significant injury as well.
Trinity fell to defeat 42-4 with the sole try for them coming through four try hero from last week Innes Senior, however his effort today couldn’t spark a comeback with the heavy defeat meaning that Wakefield return to the foot of Super League.
The loss means that the fixture at Belle Vue against Castleford Tigers in just under two weeks is of even greater importance than if they were to have won.
As well as the defeat there were more concerns for Wakefield with centre Samisoni Langi stretchered off in the first half, something the club have now confirmed was as a result of a fracture in his shoulder.
🏥| We have received news on Samisoni Langi and we can confirm he has suffered a fracture in his shoulder.
Wishing you a speedy recovery, Sami! 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/38RYCw9Z80
— Wakefield Trinity (@WTrinityRL) August 6, 2023
Mark Applegarth also spoke to the press explaining the situation, providing BBC Sport West Yorkshire with an update on his centre.
“I’ve just got off the phone with the doctors now and it’s not a fractured neck, he’s got a fracture somewhere in his shoulder.
“The main thing is that it sounds like there’s no serious danger to his neck, I just got that word before I cam in here and thank God it’s not a broken bone in his neck.
“There is a fracture but I think it’s somewhere in his shoulder but we’re just happy that it’s not his neck.”
Asked on the nature of the challenge that caused the injury, Applegarth refused to commit to condemning it.
“I don’t know, it’s always hard when you’re in the heat of the moment. I’d have to have a proper look back on video but I don’t think it’s the reason we lost either way, whether the decision was right or not. But again, the main thing is that Sami is alright, that’s all where my thoughts are at the moment.”
On the suggestion that the home side reacted better to the ten minute delay during which Langi received medical attention and was stretched off, Applegarth explained that it was just a case of Hull FC being the better side.
“We’ve spoke about it there that I thought their line speed rattled us all game and I thought Hull were a better team than us.
“We all though, myself and the players, that we would serve up a better performance today. Credit to Hull FC, but we’ve got some honest assessments on the back of that game.
“We spoke last week about not getting ahead of ourselves and following that game up with a performance, trying to learn from our performance against Huddersfield after the Wigan win and we’ve not learned our lesson.
“It’s really important we assess why, we’ve got to stick together. There’s still six games, it’s still in our hands. We’ll be honest with each other this week but also stick together and make sure we come out firing for the next game.”
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