Wakefield Trinity v St Helens: Hosts out to set record straight and boost top-four chances
Wakefield Trinity have defied expectations and rattled cages since their return to Super League – with one notable exception.
Daryl Powell's side have taken down Wigan Warriors, Leigh Leopards and Leeds Rhinos, while both Hull clubs had to work hard to escape with the points.
The 10-time Super League champions cruised to a convincing win at Belle Vue in early March and had the reverse fixture wrapped up by half-time the following month.
Now sitting sixth and within striking distance of Saints, Trinity are perhaps one of the few sides happy to see loop fixtures on the 2025 schedule – and not only because they face Salford Red Devils twice in the final six rounds.
Wakefield get another crack at St Helens on home soil on Friday night and are determined to show how far they have come since their last meeting.
"I just think we're in a different place now," said assistant coach Michael Shenton.
"They taught us a couple of lessons in those games – and lessons that we've learnt from. It's made us who we are at the moment.
"There is motivation there. It sometimes feels like an injustice that you haven't quite got it right but that's a credit to them and the things they did to hurt us.
"It's a big challenge. We know there will be no off day from them and that we have to be on it.
"It's a great test and marker for us to see where we're at."
Perhaps crucially, Wakefield are refreshed for the run-in after enjoying a well-deserved two-week break.
Although they still have work to do to see off the challenge of fellow play-off hopefuls Hull FC, Trinity strengthened their top-four chances with a nerve-shredding win over Leeds Rhinos last time out.
Another victory against a title rival would leave the Belle Vue faithful dreaming of a home play-off tie.
"If we get the result here, it puts us in a really strong position," added Shenton. "Beating Leeds did that as well.
"We don't just want to get in the play-offs. If you're going to get in there, you've got to have a crack at it and take form and confidence into it.
"What Belle Vue is becoming for us – from the start of the season to now – a home play-off game would be big. But we've also gone away from home and done really well at times.
"Getting in there is the main goal but a home tie would be massive, especially with how our fans are backing us at the moment."
Wakefield have only two regular-season fixtures remaining at Belle Vue after the visit of St Helens but their run-in could hardly be more favourable.
While Trinity face Wigan and Hull KR in the final month, they also have four games against the bottom three.
Powell's men travel to Salford next week and are scheduled to return there on the last day, provided the beleaguered Red Devils make it to the end of the campaign.
Super League's crisis club were hammered 74-12 by Hull KR last week and have since lost another raft of senior players to deepen Paul Rowley's selection woes.
Should everything go to plan against Saints, Wakefield could ring the changes at Salford to ready the squad for the business end of the season.
"I've seen a couple of players have left but don't know the ins and outs of the situation there," said Shenton, who revealed long-term absentee Ky Rodwell was on track to face the Red Devils. "It's obviously a sad situation and awful to see what's happening there.
"We play them next and it's an opportunity to keep some of our players tuned in. That's really important because you never know when you're going to need players to step in. That might be a key game where they have to come in.
"We'll see what comes out of this game but there will definitely be a decision to make on what the team looks like for Salford."