York Knights v Wakefeld Trinity In modern parlance, York Knights versus Wakefield Trinity could be dubbed the Mark Applegarth derby.

The 41-year-old cut his teeth in Super League with Wakefield in 2023 before being handed a lifeline by York the following season.

But, true to form, Applegarth deflected the attention ahead of the most high-profile reunion with his former club yet.

"I don't think it's anything to do with me," he said. "It's about the teams out there.

Yorkshire-bound?: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in action for New Zealand Warriors against Canberra Raiders in the NRL this month. The 32-year-old has been linked with a move to Wakefield Trinity. (Picture: PhotoSport NZ/SWpix.com)

placeholder image — Yorkshire-bound?: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in action for New Zealand Warriors against Canberra Raiders in the NRL this month. The 32-year-old has been linked with a move to Wakefield Trinity. (Picture: PhotoSport NZ/SWpix.com)

"Life moves on. I've definitely moved on - I'm happy at York - and Wakefield have moved on.

"Daryl (Powell) is a fantastic coach who is doing a cracking job there. Matt (Ellis) has invested heavily, not only on the field but off the field and transformed the club in that sense.

"I'd hate the narrative to be about myself or Daryl. It's two fantastic teams going at each other and I'd like to think that'll take the headlines."

While he has already faced Trinity twice in the Championship during his time at the Knights, Friday marks Applegarth's first Super League meeting with his old club.

It proved to be a testing first experience as a head coach with Wakefield, ending in relegation after a difficult season that yielded just four wins.

Applegarth is philosophical about how that campaign unfolded and the coaching change that followed. In the cold light of day, he has accepted that Powell was the right man to lead Trinity's rebuild.

"An opportunity was presented to me at that moment in time and I took it," said Applegarth.

"Life is 90 per cent how you respond to the 10 per cent of things that happen to you.

"I don't like revisiting the past because I don't see what good you get out of it. There were obviously some lessons to learn from it. I'd like to think I took what I needed from it and parked it.

"There's no bad blood on my part whatsoever. I think Daryl is what Wakefield needed at that moment in time under Matt's leadership.

"I wish Wakefield nothing but the best, barring Friday night."

Applegarth had to wait 15 games to claim his first Super League victory with Wakefield but is already halfway towards matching his 2023 tally of wins after a promising start to York's debut season at the top level.

Wins over Hull KR and Hull FC have been backed up by competitive performances against Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors - matches in which the newcomers have shown they can live with established opposition, even if they have not always seen the results through.

For Applegarth, York's next step is to turn encouraging displays into consistent outcomes rather than simply competing without reward.

"It doesn't matter who we're playing," he said. "We've still got the belief.

"We're pretty filthy with ourselves that we'd done the hard work against Warrington and Wigan to build a lead or get back into the lead, only to throw it away.

"We don't just want to be nearly men that push teams close. We feel we should be four from five.

"We'll back ourselves every day of the week. That self-belief and mentality is a really important thing in sport.

"We've just got to learn to be a bit more clinical and ruthless when we do get some ascendancy like that."