Reece Lyne happy to reunite with Andy Last at Wakefield Trinity

Trinity have just completed their first full week of pre-season training with head coach Chris Chester having brought in two new assistants with Willie Poching also joining the Super League outfit over the winter.

England assistant Last spent 21 years at home-town Hull in a variety of roles, including acting head coach most of last season when he got them to within 80 minutes of the Grand Final.

He opted to leave last month after Australian Brett Hodgson was appointed in charge.

Lyne, 28, came through the academy at the Black and Whites and played a handful of first-team games for them before joining Trinity in 2012.

“I had Lasty in my academy days and he was also my reserve coach at Hull, too,” he explained.

“It’s great to have him here; he’ll be a really shrewd signing for the club. Massive, really.

“He’s a really good fella and very knowledgeable coach who also brings a lot of energy.

“He’s been assistant at Hull for a long time now under some different head coaches and he helps with team spirit and getting the boys buying in together as a group. He’s very big on that and it’s been really good to have him around.”

Lyne added: “It’s really important getting your coaching staff right as they’re the ones looking to improve you.

“It’s important you have good coaches and characters there and now the three we have – with Willie Poching also coming in and Mark Applegarth from the Academy – to assist Chezzy means we have a real strong set of coaching staff.”

Trinity are desperate to improve in 2021 after last year’s miserable campaign which included a ten-game losing run as they finished 10th.

“The past two seasons have been pretty poor by our own standards,” conceded Lyne, who is also looking to improve his own form with the 2021 World Cup at the end of the season.

“There’s not too many changes in terms of the squad. But we certainly need to be putting some work in in these next eight, nine weeks to make sure we start fast so we’re not chasing our tails and constantly looking at the table.”

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