Wakefield coach says teams resting players ‘not great’ for Super League ‘integrity’
Wakefield Trinity head coach Daryl Powell
Wakefield Trinity coach Daryl Powell has insisted he never gave thought to resting his big-hitters ahead of the Super League play-offs starting next week: saying such a move is not great for the competition.
The four teams between third and sixth have taken contrasting approaches to how they go about their final game of the regular season this weekend.
Warrington Wolves will rotate heavily against Toulouse – which could yet open the door for Trinity to snatch third from the Wire. Hull KR have also, for the second time in a month, effectively brought in a reserve side to travel to St Helens, with the Robins almost certain to finish sixth as a result.
Wakefield coach resists changes
But Trinity and Friday’s opponents Leigh Leopards, who are odds-on to meet again in next week’s play-off opener, have gone as close to full strength as possible.
And Powell stressed that he had two reasons for wanting to keep his side as strong as possible – to maintain momentum going into the play-offs, but also for the wider integrity of Super League.
He said: “I understand why some teams do it, but I don’t think it’s great for the game. But everyone makes their own decisions. All along I thought we really wanted to keep tuned in (for next week). I
“think it’s important we keep the integrity of the competition for me. I’ve done it in the past but not too much and for us it’s a bit different. It’s an important game, we need to get this right. We’re fighting for a home play-off here. I understand it’s different for other teams but we want to be tuned in and we’re at a crucial stage, it’s a crucial game for us to get right.”
Powell addresses play-off permutations
The Wakefield coach also admitted he was aware of all the permutations surrounding Friday’s game; Wakefield could yet finish fifth if they are beaten by 28 points by Leigh. As mentioned, they could also claim third if Warrington lose, Trinity win and there is a swing in points difference.
But Powell insisted he will not be paying any attention to those permutations on Friday, nor will he be keeping abreast of the score at Warrington.
“We’ll focus on our game,” he said. “I’ve not spoke about anything to the players. They’re taking about winning the game rather than any permutations. It’ll fall the way it falls. We know Leigh are a quality team and they knocked us out of the play-offs last year so we know how good they are on their home ground.
“We’re aware of the details of it and we’ve prepared for whether want to Leigh move the ball everywhere and chase points. I’m not sure whether they will do that but we’ll see.”
