Sykes will be on familiar ground for Wakefield Trinity bow

The former England international goes straight into the side that takes on London Broncos at Twickenham Stoop having joined on loan from Odsal until the end of the season.

Sykes, who can operate at stand-off, centre or full-back, had found chances hard to come by under Bradford coach Mick Potter and is relishing the chance to demonstrate his worth with their West Yorkshire neighbours.

Ironically, his first opportunity comes at the club where he spent most of his career.

After making his Bulls debut against Wakefield in 1999, Sykes went on loan to London and eventually signed permanently in 2002.

He made almost 130 Super League appearances and racked up a club record points total before returning to Odsal in 2008, featuring for England in the World Cup later that year.

Sykes, 30, has fallen down the pecking order this season, though, and admitted: “I’ve been limited at Bradford and not been able to get many games.

“I’ve only played twice this season so hopefully I can get a few matches at Wakefield and help them climb the ladder.

“There’s a lot of new players here but they seem to be starting to gel together and have had a couple of good wins. Hopefully I can help add to that and start enjoying it again.”

His arrival is timed perfectly for Wakefield coach Richard Agar who has been looking for an experienced goal-kicker to alleviate the pressure on Isaac John but also has a centre vacancy after Dean Collis was injured in Sunday’s excellent 32-22 success over Catalan.

That was only their second victory of the year but came on the back of a narrow loss to leaders Warrington Wolves as improving Trinity begin to show signs of developing under their new coach.

Visiting bottom-placed London, who have just one win to their name and were defeated 38-30 by fellow strugglers Widnes Vikings last week, should be another opportunity to advance their cause.

Agar said: “We’ve had a little bit of momentum over three or four weeks even though we’ve not had the two points to show for it.

“This week brings along a different challenge; it’s the first time we’ve played someone below us in the competition.”