“I thought we were going to serve up a better performance than that”: Wakefield Trinity boss Mark Applegarth rues poor showing against Hull FC
Wakefield Trinity head coach Mark Applegarth was left perplexed by the performance put in by his side as they were beaten 42-4 by Hull FC on Sunday afternoon.
Trinity have clawed themselves back into contention for survival in Super League in recent weeks, picking up four victories since 11th June to go level on points with managerless Castleford Tigers.
Ahead of their trip to the MKM Stadium, Applegarth’s side had moved off the bottom of the table on points difference courtesy of the Tigers’ defeat to Huddersfield Giants on Thursday night which brought the end of Andy Last’s time in charge at the Jungle.
After a heavy defeat of their own, unwantingly maintaining a winless record on the road this term, Wakefield are now back bottom and the boss conceded they were second best throughout against the Black and Whites.
Mark Applegarth rues Wakefield performance at Hull FC
The 38-year-old said: “I thought we were going to serve up a better performance than that but credit to Hull. I thought their line speed rattled us all game and I think they were just the better team.
“I think we were frustrated all game. We let a few things rattle us and we need to be better at staying composed in those situations.
“There were a couple of soft tries where they brought us undone but I don’t need to tell the players that, they know that and we’ll work hard on fixing that.
“We’ve got some honest assessments to make after that and it’s really important that we stick together.”
Eyes on the Tigers for Wakefield
There are no Super League fixtures this week as the schedule takes a break for the Challenge Cup final between Leigh Leopards and Hull KR at Wembley.
Accordingly, Wakefield – along with nine other clubs – have extra time to prepare for their next game, and for Trinity it couldn’t be much bigger.
They host relegation rivals Cas at Belle Vue live in front of the Sky Sports cameras, knowing that whichever team comes out on top will pull two competition points clear.
Applegarth though played down the value of that clash, adding: “Our next game is big but there are still six games to go, we want to focus on each week as it comes.
“It’s a local derby which is always a big game, but we need to make sure we play the game, not the occasion, it’s still very much in our hands.”
Samisoni Langi stretchered off
In their defeat to the Black and Whites, Applegarth’s side also suffered another blow in the form of Samisoni Langi being stretchered off.
The utility French international left the field in the opening 40 minutes, but his boss post-match provided a positive update.
“He’s got a fracture in his shoulder but it thankfully sounds like there’s no damage to his neck.
“We’re just happy that it’s not his neck, the main thing for me is that Samisoni is alright.”
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