Applegarth ready for hard slog in York Knights away day

The Knights are ticking off their final matches of their first ever Super League season, with a trip to Wakefield on Saturday being their penultimate away match of the campaign (5.30pm).

But playing against a Trinity side that have defied some people’s expectations this season, Applegarth doesn’t expect the red carpet to be rolled out for his York side.

Daryl Powell’s team currently find themselves in fourth position and on 32 points, six shy of leaders Leeds Rhinos, who scored 66 points past the Knights last weekend.

It’s a testing time to face Wakefield too, who had been breathing down Leeds’ neck for the summit, until three defeats in a row unravelled their chase for the League Leaders’ Shield.

Applegarth is therefore anticipating a reaction and a tough challenge against the Trinity, crediting opposition head coach Powell for his work with the West Yorkshire side.

“Wakefield have been excellent,” Applegarth said in his pre-match press conference.

“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.

“You look at [Jake] Trueman, he’s probably for me the in-form half for most of the season.

“You can make a good argument that he will be there for that England team, or definitely one of them.

“Their bench has brought some real impact for them, [Caleb Hamlin-]Uele and [Caius] Faatili and so forth, they’ve got some good meters in them and a big impact.

“They are a good, structured team, they challenge you a lot with their shape and create a lot of mismatches.

“They are smart enough to change those triggers when they are on, and they have also got some real grit about them in defence.

“We know we need to be on it, and it’s really important that we do our homework there.

“At the same time, as I say most week’s at the moment, our focus is predominantly on us and getting where we need to be.

“We need to be happy with the brand of rugby that we’re serving up.”

Wakefield have earned a lot of praise lately for their strength in attack, with the Trinity’s pack one of their most lethal weapons.

Applegarth is looking forward to seeing both packs go head-to-head on Saturday, having been impressed with certain elements of the hosts’ side.

He added: “I think that their forward unit is a real strength of theirs. Mike McMeeken has been an excellent signing for them, a real figurehead for them.

“If you look at the people they have signed around him, they have got some real punch about them, some real impact.

“They’ve also got some smarts and they know how to move you around right, with some big one-on-ones and quick plays of the ball that [Tyson] Smoothy and Harvey Smith can exploit.

“We know our defence will get tested, but we’ve got Paul Vaughan back, we’ve got some good players ourselves in there, so it should be a really good match up.”