Daryl Powell waxes lyrical over ‘rare’ Wakefield Trinity star following thumping Catalans Dragons win

Wakefield Trinity boss Daryl Powell has hailed the uniqueness of off-season recruit Josh Rourke following his man-of-the-match performance in their resounding 44-6 win over Catalans Dragons.

Having been utilised from the bench in each of his two previous appearances for Trinity, Rourke returned to the starting 13 for the Dragons’ visit to Belle Vue on Saturday evening.

Slotting in at full-back as Max Jowitt moved into the halves in the absence of Jake Trueman, the Chorley-born ace took his opportunity with both hands as he grabbed a brace of tries.

The first of those stole the show, chasing a kick before leaping higher than opposite number Sam Tomkins by some distance to claim the ball and dot it down.

LRL RECOMMENDS: Warrington Wolves boss Sam Burgess addresses Nene Macdonald links with intriguing response given

‘Josh Rourke does some things that nobody else can do in Super League’

Rourke – who scooped the Player of the Match Medal from Sky Sports – also laid on two assists as he made 103 metres in the latest of a series of impressive showings since his off-season move to Belle Vue from relegated London Broncos.

He’s now recorded seven direct try involvements in 13 Super League appearances so far this term, and post-match, drew glowing praise from head coach Powell.

Lauding the 25-year-old, the veteran coach said: “Josh Rourke does some things that nobody else can do in Super League.

“I don’t see anyone going catching high balls like he has a couple of times this year.

“If you’re a full-back and you’re standing there waiting to catch a ball, you know if he’s coming at you, you’d better do something about it. It’s quite difficult and a rare skill that he’s got.

“He’s really growing as a player and his confidence is getting better all of the time.

“He did some really smart things and it was a quality performance.”

LRL RECOMMENDS: Catalans Dragons coach offers damning ‘not up to it’ assessment of squad after heavy Wakefield Trinity defeat