Wakefield's Hood knows all about relegation scraps as he looks to save season

16 April 2023 , 06:56

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Wakefield Trinity's Liam Hood, left, and in action for Leigh

Wakefield hooker Liam Hood insists he’s not “worried” about the club’s Betfred Super League status - even still awaiting a first win.

The Scotland international, 31, has been in relegation dogfights before so knows all about the pressures involved. Wakefield look to get off the mark at last when they host his former club Leigh today but are already huge favourites for the drop. They have lost all eight games so far and already four points adrift of nearest rivals Hull and Castleford.

But Hood was in a similar position with Leigh, twice suffering relegation with them, and he’s no intention of enduring it a third time. They went down in 2017 after falling in the Million Pound Game against Catalans. And four years later, they lost a staggering 16 successive games before getting their first success but obviously were already doomed point.

Ex-Salford player Hood firmly believes Trinity have enough to get out of trouble and avoid that fate. He admitted: “It is a tough situation to be in. I’ve been here before so I know how it feels. It’s hard trying to keep everything positive as everything else you see around Wakefield is quite negative.

“You have all the pundits writing us off and everyone else and obviously the fans are getting frustrated with how things are going. I’m not going to lie: it is tough. But, at the same time, once we find a win, that low confidence we’re playing under at the moment will start to go and more wins will come. We’re not worried. I know it’s hard for people to see that when we’re zero from eight but we are not worried. We’ll find that form.”

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Hood believes the return of key forwards Kelepi Tanginoa and Josh Bowden from injury today will bolster their cause. He added: “We’re just trying to keep team morale as high as possible. We understand we’ve not had the best of luck. We’ve had a fair few injuries and not played one game yet with our starting spine. “Things like that make it massively harder. But we’ve a bit of a boost this week with Kelepi and Josh back. And there's more to come."

Wakefield's Liam Hood in action in latest loss at Castleford (John Clifton/SWpix.com) (John Clifton/SWpix.com)

Meanwhile, it’s bitter-sweet for Hood seeing Leigh making such a good stab of Super League since earning promotion again last autumn. They have been immediately demoted in each of their previous three top-flight campaigns but have already picked up three wins this time to suggest they’re now here to stay. That, however, makes Wakefield’s bid to avoid the drop - they’ve never been relegated from Super League - even tougher.

Hood conceded: “I’ve spoken to a few of my mates who are still there. “I’m happy for them and for Leigh. I know how much effort (owner) Derek Beaumont and others who work at that club have put in to get into Super League and stay here.

“With the shows (Scouting for Girls, T’Pau) they’ve been putting on before games, he’s showing he has a passion to stay there. That’s great for rugby league, not just Leigh. But I’m concentrating on Wakefield.”

David Craven