Wakefield Trinity not mentioning 'payback' against Leeds Rhinos - just delivering

Wakefield Trinity interim head coach Willie Poching says there will be no talk of “revenge” when his side host derby rivals Leeds Rhinos tomorrow.
Wakefield Trinity's Tini Arona, left, is congratulated by Kelepi Tanginoa after scoring in their recent game against Castleford Tigers. (ALLAN MCKENZIE/SWPIX)Wakefield Trinity's Tini Arona, left, is congratulated by Kelepi Tanginoa after scoring in their recent game against Castleford Tigers. (ALLAN MCKENZIE/SWPIX)
Wakefield Trinity's Tini Arona, left, is congratulated by Kelepi Tanginoa after scoring in their recent game against Castleford Tigers. (ALLAN MCKENZIE/SWPIX)

It will be the third time the West Yorkshire clubs have met this term and Trinity will be hoping it’s third time lucky for them.

Both previous games - each played at Emerald Headingley - were extremely tight with Leeds edging home 28-22 in March before claiming a controversial Golden Point 15-13 success in May.

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But Poching - hoping for a third win in four games since taking over from the sacked Chris Chester - said: “There’s no paybacks.

“We are just trying to do what we can.

“We are in a different frame of mind now and trying to hold on to some of the form and confidence we have.

“What has been and done is gone; we can’t look back and think about anything along the revenge lines.

“It’s just about going out and doing the best we can with the side we roll out.”

Wakefield Trinity interim head coach Willie Poching (TONY JOHNSON)Wakefield Trinity interim head coach Willie Poching (TONY JOHNSON)
Wakefield Trinity interim head coach Willie Poching (TONY JOHNSON)
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Obviously, Wakefield were only in action on Thursday when they won 25-18 at Hull KR with Leeds having had 24 hours extra grace following Wednesday’s 14-0 victory at Wigan Warriors.

Trinity have lost Matty Ashurst and Chris Green to injuries suffered in their game but England centre Reece Lyne is back in contention and teenager Harry Bowes is also added to the squad.

After defeating Warrington Wolves and KR, Poching would make it a hat-trick of wins against clubs where he has previously been an assistant coach if they beat Leeds.

He started his coaching career there in 2005 having won the Grand Final with Rhinos as a player the previous season.

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Although Trinity are not in the running for the play-offs, Leeds are up to fifth on the back of a three-game winning run.

“I thought they were very good against Wigan,” said Poching.

“They defended stoutly and had a real tenacity and aggression about them.

“The young fellas they’ve got are playing with confidence and they’re being led well by Matt Prior up front.

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“They have got dangers across the park and they are fighting for something, a place in the top-six. They will be desperate and hungry.”

On his own squad’s recovery, he added: “It’s just a case of recovering and patching up some of them and rolling them out again.

“Such is the difficulty of these weekends.

“There will be periods of the game when both teams’ energy will be down a bit. Hopefully that won’t reflect on the quality of the game and both teams are able to go out and give a good account of themselves.”

Trinity loose forward Joe Westerman is set for his 300th Super League game while makeshift hooker Liam Kay will make his 200th career appearance if he features.