Leeds Rhinos vs Wakefield Trinity Wildcats preview

 After a tough start against Salford, Rohan Smith will have his first chance to sample the Headingley atmosphere on Friday night as the Rhinos face fellow strugglers Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. 

Wakefield under former Leeds player Willie Poching have won just three times so far this season and sit 11th on the table on 6 points. Trinity like Salford last week are currently in the midst of a 6 game losing streak that has seen them concede 30 or more points in 3 of their last 5 games, including conceding 54 points to second place Wigan warriors. 

In my season preview I predicted that Wakefied were one of the favourites to be relegated this year and they have shown through the first 12 rounds of Super league why this may well be the case. Looking at the Wakefield squad they have some quality players, especially in the outside backs, but lack strength in depth in key positions that can often leave them out matched against stronger teams.

Last time out they fell to a 20-14 defeat across the channel against bottom of the table Toulouse. Both teams scored three tries on the day meaning that it was the boot of Chris Hankinson that decided the game as he kicked two conversions and 2 penalty goals. Both teams scored spectacular well worked tries but also would have been disappointed in their defence for some of the other tries. Poaching and his team would no doubt be unhappy with the way they conceded two tries by the Toulouse full back Olly Ashall-Bott who was allowed to score twice despite being isolated against multiple defenders. 

When these two teams met in round 4 of the season they were both looking for their first win of the season and on that occasion it was the Rhinos who came away the victors. In their first outing in the pink third kit Leeds ran out 34-18 winners in what was perhaps their best game of the season. A barrage of tries, including two from Ash Handley, meant that Leeds took a 30-0 lead at halftime that was simply too much for the home team to comeback from. Wakefield did score three tries in the second half including  two late consolation tries in the last 5 minutes after Handley completed his hat trick. From a Leeds point of view this was the first time that we saw the potential of a halfback combination of Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin as the pair combined well in the first half to set up multiple tries.

In the team news, for what feels like the first time this season there are no new injuries or suspensions to announce for the Rhinos. Leeds have also been able to recall Morgan Gannon from suspension and Liam Sutcliffe  from injury. The return of Sutcliffe should also give Rohan Smith the opportunity to move Leeming back to hooker. He can either play Sutcliffe in the centres and move Zak Hardaker to fullback or play Sutcliffe in the halfback position.

Willie Poching has also been able to recall two key players with halfback Jacob Miller and winger Tom lineham returning from suspension and injury respectively. When looking at Wakefield’s squad it is clear that their strength lies in their outside backs and their creative players are always looking to create space on the edges for their wide men. In their squad they have three premier wingers in Tom Johnstone, Tom Lineham and Liam Kay  They also have the new Tom Johnstone in Lewis Murphy who week on week seems to score more absurd tries. Last week against Toulouse he seemed to defy gravity as he touched the ball down while his body was parallel to the ground.

Despite the poor result against Salford I once again feel confident that Leeds can win this game comfortably. Wakefield don’t have the strike players that Salford had and the players that returned last week now have a full super league game in their legs to get them back to the season. The key to victory will be in the forwards. If the Leeds forwards can win the forward battle they will be able to create a platform for the Leeds outside backs to play like they did at the Bell Vue in the reverse fixture. It is imperative that Rohan Smith can get his team right and get as many players as possible playing in their natural positions. If this is the case  the Rhinos should have too much quality for this struggling Wakefield side. My prediction is a 28-10 win to Leeds.

Thank you for reading and remember All Leeds aren’t we.