Jack Harbidge previews the Round Four clash between Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity at the KCOM Stadium….. This is what we have to look forward to.
Venue: KCOM Stadium, Kingston upon Hull
Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Last Five Meetings
10/09/2020 Hull FC 26 – 23 Wakefield Trinity (Super League)
06/03/2020 Wakefield Trinity 26 – 27 Hull FC (Super League)
11/08/2019 Wakefield Trinity 16 – 26 Hull FC (Super League)
28/04/2019 Hull FC 30 – 14 Wakefield Trinity (Super League)
15/03/2019 Hull FC 12 – 32 Wakefield Trinity (Super League)
Team Lists
Match Preview
Brett Hodgson’s side come into this game unbeaten in all competitions, having drawn against Warrington last week after an arduous golden point session. They will be without summer signing Josh Reynolds once again, but gain Samoan forward Ligi Sao who replaces Jack Brown as a result of suspension.
On the other hand, Wakefield have positive injury news with Max Jowitt back in the squad alongside Liam Kay and 2020 Super League Dream Teamer Kelepi Tanginoa. Pivotal playmaker Jacob Miller will miss the trip to the Airlie Birds and Sam Eseh comes into the 21 in his place.
The omission of playmaker Jacob Miller will be a huge blow for an already struggling Wakefield side that is still winless this season, most notably failing to score more than six in their past three fixtures. While their attack is a worry, the Trinity defence has been especially poor since their close loss to Leeds in Round One, having conceded totals of 28, 34, 26, and 34. More worrying, however, is the perceived lack of effort and desire to compete suggested by the concession of such a volume of points.
That said, their losses have come to the top three sides in the competition and, while Hull are potentially only the slightest step down (4th place), the only way is up from here for Chris Chester’s side. They face a slightly weakened Hull, who will still be extremely tough through the middle and as a result, Wakefield will still face the similar woes encountered in previous weeks.
Hull, on the other hand, having been playing total rugby league under the guidance of veterans Marc Sneyd, Danny Houghton and now Josh Reynolds, piling on 22, 35, and 34 points in their three winning efforts this season. If they can reproduce it this Friday following a blip last time out against Warrington, they should be able to find plenty of space for their exceptionally skilled spine and outside backs to capitalise off – especially if Wakefield are to offer up a similar performance to recent weeks.
That said, this is somewhat of a desperation spot for Wakefield, who now must avoid going 0-5 for the season and any form of good result here would springboard them onto a relatively easier run of fixtures following. Unfortunately for Trinity though, it will take a massive performance to beat this Hull FC outfit.
Prediction
Hull FC by 16 points.
