Daryl Powell believes his Wakefield Trinity side are ‘ready’ for a second crack at Hull FC this Thursday night. However, the head coach has acknowledged that Trinity will need to get past Hull’s ‘toughness and grittiness’ to come away with any victory.
The two sides meet for a second time of the season at the MKM Stadium, with Hull, who started the season strongly, winning the March clash 16-12 at Belle Vue. But it’s Wakefield that are in form now and tipped to return the favour, having leapfrogged their hosts into the final play-off spot last weekend.
Maintaining that grip is now the test with ten Super League rounds to go, with Powell challenging his side to ‘put the pressure’ on Hull, who are still searching for a first home win of the season.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Powell said: “The game earlier in the year, there was nothing in it. Hull were playing exceptionally well at the time. They had a great start to the season, and there’s still the same toughness and grittiness in them now. They are tough to break down, and they’re a team that we’re competing with pretty hard for the top six. It’s an important game.
“We need to play well, put them under pressure, and make life difficult for them. We had the same situation earlier on in the year (not winning at home), and it can take over you a little bit. We’ve just got to play our game and be ourselves.
“We’ve got a high-quality team here who are doing a lot of really good things. We just need to keep doing that and put Hull under some extreme pressure. We can get better. We’re competitive, and we’re growing every week. It’s a decent challenge this week.”
Powell is expecting another tough battle between the two sides, with Hull, albeit in defeat to Warrington and St Helens in recent weeks, coming up trumps with their effort and grit.
Unfortunately, polish with the ball has been lacking with a high error count, their undoing, but there’s no lack of desperation and the like, something that keeps them in games as a resilient outfit.
“Hull are always in battles,” Powell continued. “They are difficult to beat, and they scramble super hard for each other. They had a lot of tackles on their own line last week, and they keep turning up for each other. We don’t take anything for granted, but we know we need to be on our game.
“They’re a different beast this year, and they’ve had a strong season so far. For us, going away to places like Hull and getting results – it’s another tick in the box, but we know what we’ve got to do to make that happen.
“It’s not going to be easier going there, but I’m really happy with where we’re at and what we’re doing. I’m confident we can take on the challenges that are ahead. It’s a stiff one this week, but I think we’re ready for it.”