Wakefield Trinity v York Knights: Daryl Powell insists top-four hopefuls in 'great place' despite shaky form

Daryl Powell's men looked well placed for a top-two push at half-time against Leeds Rhinos in early August.

Now, after three straight defeats, Trinity could be forgiven for looking over their shoulder at the chasing pack.

But Powell, whose side remain in the hunt for a coveted top-four place and a home play-off tie, is still upbeat about Wakefield's prospects.

"The last few weeks have been difficult for different reasons," he said ahead of Saturday's Belle Vue clash with York Knights.

"You could easily look at us and say we've lost three games and are on a downward path but I honestly don’t feel like that. I feel like we're in a great position.

"We've played some real tough games over the last three weeks and there's only the Saints game where we'd be hugely disappointed that we didn't do ourselves justice. There are some reasons for that.

"I feel like we're getting ready to go. We've got three games left of the regular season. We know we need to get going again and this is an important game in doing that.

"I'm pretty confident with where we're at. The group’s in a great place mentally. I feel like we’ve handled losing consecutive games pretty well.

"We've got high standards and want to win those games but periods like this happen. We don’t get too carried away with winning three straight and we’re not going to do the opposite of that when we lose a few."

Wakefield appear to be in a battle for fourth spot with Leigh Leopards, who they face in the last round.

Before then, Trinity host third-placed Warrington Wolves in their final home fixture of the regular season.

Powell is not in the business of poring over permutations.

"We want to win all three," he said.

"This is a period where we're setting ourselves up. I don't think we can say we want to win two out of three – we want to win every game. That's the way we approach it.

"We need to get back on track."

A home date with lowly York presents an ideal opportunity to do just that.

Powell, however, knows better than to underestimate the plucky Knights.

"They've been competitive all year," said the Trinity boss, who has lost Oli Pratt and Matty Storton for the season but welcomes back Tom Johnstone, Mason Lino, Jazz Tevaga, Jay Pitts and Isaiah Vagana.

"Last week blew out but Leeds can do that to anybody. I watched the game against Warrington and that could have gone either way. Deep into the game, it was still pretty close.

"They've got good quality players. Paul Vaughan will come back into the team this week. He's had a big year for them.

"I obviously know all about Paul McShane. Any team he's in is going to be really competitive.

"We just have to focus on us, playing against a team that's going to be difficult to beat. It's important we have our mind in the right place."

The fixture takes Mark Applegarth back to Belle Vue for the first time in Super League.

The York boss, who was in charge when Trinity dropped out of the top flight in 2023, knows exactly what to expect from his former club.

"Wakefield have been excellent," said Applegarth. "Up until three weeks ago, they were sitting in the top two and fighting Leeds for that top spot.

"Daryl and the team have done a cracking job there. They’ve got some real quality about them.

"They're a good, structured team. They challenge you a lot with their shape and create a lot of mismatches. They're smart enough to change those triggers when they're on and have also got some real grit about them in defence.

"We know we need to be on it."

York have been a positive addition to Super League but are not yet out of the woods in their battle to avoid the wooden spoon.

The Knights remain two points above bottom side Bradford Bulls as a final-round showdown at the LNER Community Stadium comes into view.

First things first, they must find a response to last week's drubbing by Leeds.

"It's fair to say there are a few bruised egos, including mine," said Applegarth. "It's never nice when you get 66 put on you.

"But it's really important that you own it. It's a clean slate. We're looking forward because there's no point dwelling on the past."