The return of a top forward could give Wakefield Trinity a massive boost in tomorrow’s (Saturday) crucial home clash with Hull KR.
The Robins will secure the League Leaders’ Shield if they win, but Trinity need a victory to stay ahead of Hull FC in the battle for the sixth and final play-off spot.
Aussie prop Ky Rodwell is in contention to feature for Wakefield in his first senior game since a derby win against Castleford Tigers in April.
He was set to play away to Salford Red Devils last month, but that game was cancelled and he suffered a back problem when he turned out for the reserves instead.
Wakefield Trinity injury boost
Rodwell has been named in Trinity’s initial squad for what would be his fourth Super League appearance of 2025 and coach Daryl Powell told his pre-match press conference today: “He has got through this week okay so he has a chance of playing.”
Powell said: “It would be good to have him back, it has been a fair while since we’ve seen him.
“We have been pretty light at times so it’s good to get him back out there and see how he goes. He is pretty much looking forward to it.”
Rodwell, 26, joined Wakefield from Parramatta Eels last year and was a key player in their promotion-winning Championship campaign.
“We haven’t had him an awful lot this year, which has been tough for him and for us,” Powell added.
“He is physical, with really good go-forward and he is pretty aggressive defensively – all the things you want in a front-rower.
“He is still growing and maturing. He had an awesome year for us last year. I don’t expect him to be blowing the game out of the water tomorrow, but just getting him back out there would be awesome for us.
“Hopefully he can get back and have a really good end to the season and then start building towards what he does moving forward.”
Sixth-placed Trinity are one point ahead of Hull FC, in seventh. The black and whites kick off at the same time, 5.30pm, tomorrow at home to Warrington Wolves.
A Wakefield Trinity win and Hull defeat would seal Trinity’s place in the play-offs, but Powell’s men are on the back of a shock loss at Castleford last week and he could rejig his side.
Serious About Rugby League has launched a brand new podcast which can be watched in full on our YouTube channel here.
The coach said. “We weren’t great last week so we could potentially change a couple of positions.
“We need to be better than we were last week and there’s a couple of positions that would be up for grabs, based on how it went last week in particular.”
The Robins won 14-12 at Wakefield in February and 34-10 – after a dominant second half – on their own turf three months ago.
Powell stressed: “It [the top-six] is still in our hands, we just need to play well in our last two games.
“If we win them both, what Hull do becomes irrelevant. We need to be outstanding, but from everything I have seen from the boys this week, they’ll be getting after it and it should be a great game.”
