12 June 2023 , 07:40
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Boss Mark Applegarth joked nobody knew the team song after jubilant Wakefield finally won for the first time in 17 games.
Trinity had not tasted victory in TEN months, were down to 12 men and missing a dozen first-team regulars. But Super League’s bottom side still had enough to see off dismal Leeds who sagged embarrassingly in the Belle Vue sun. Rookie chief Applegarth took over in the autumn so this was his first success as a head coach with Wakefield's last victory coming under Willie Poching in August.
But he said: “We’ve said all along it’s not about me, it’s about the side. I’m just really chuffed. People have been questioning team spirit and the players have answered a few today. When we went down to 12 it could be easy to roll over and think ‘here we go’ but they dug in. I’m more proud than anything.
"They’ve done it tough and the pleasing thing is it gives us a fighting chance (of avoiding relegation). But it’s a good job I brought Dave Fifita back as he was the only guy who remembered the words to the victory song!”
Applegarth has got cult hero Fifita out of retirement and back from Australia a couple of weeks ago to bolster their fight and they have now at last got their first win of the season. Indeed, they surged into a 10-0 lead - the first time Trinity had scored first in a game since February - courtesy of tries from Jack Croft and debutant French trialist winger Romain Franco.
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Flaky Leeds, who badly butchered three early chances including Blake Austin clean dropping the ball with no one near him, made it 10-10 at the break after Cameron Smith and, on debut, ex-Doncaster forward Leon Ruan crossed. But when Trinity’s other French trialist debutant - prop Hugo Salabio - was red-carded for an ugly 44th minute tip tackle on Richie Myler, there should only have been one winner. Instead, Austin fired a drop-out straight into touch to gift Will Dagger two points.
Wakefield's Hugo Salabio upends Leeds's Richie Myler - and was duly sent off (Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)Austin did score a fine solo try to put Leeds in front for the first time in the 55th minute. But Rhyse Martin failed to stop Dagger’s restart bouncing into touch and Dagger levelled with a penalty soon after. Leeds went down to 12 men when England international Ash Handley denied Franco with a 63rd minute trip. And ruthless Trinity made them pay, captain Matty Ashurst powerinfg over in the next set before they scored back-to-back tries when Myler dropped a high kick and Morgan Smith pounced.
Dagger slotted his fourth goal and Wakefield powered home to create jubilant scenes. Rhinos suffered a fourth straight loss and boss Rohan Smith bemoaned: “I feel low after every poor performance. But we let ourselves down. There’s a lot of hurt and disappointment for me personally. It’s not close to the standard we need. We have to find it quick. We were a bad team today.”