Wakefield Trinity host Hull FC at the Mobile Rocket Stadium on Sunday as they look to secure the win to confirm their place in the Top 8 and avoid the Qualifiers.
SQUAD NEWS
Wakefield Trinity
Trinity head coach Chris Chester has made just the one change from the side that drew with Leeds at Headingley last week.
Long term absentee Craig Huby is back fit and returns to the squad in place of fellow prop forward Anthony England.
Wakefield Trinity 19-man squad:ย Chris Annakin, Tinirau Arona, Matty Ashurst, James Batchelor, Mason Caton-Brown, David Fifita, Ryan Hampshire, Keegan Hirst, Justin Horo, Craig Huby, Tom Johnstone, Ben Jones-Bishop, Max Jowitt, Reece Lyne, Jacob Miller, Pauli Pauli, Tyler Randell, Bill Tupou, Kyle Wood.
Hull FC
Lee Radford, Hull FC head coach, has been forced to make three changes to the squad that will make the short journey to Wakefield.
Influential figures Albert Kelly and Jake Connor, as well as Chris Green, are all missing through injury.
However, the Black and whites are boosted by the return of winger Fetuli Talanoa, who is joined in the 19 alongside Liam Harris and Jez Litten.
Hull FC 19-man squad:ย Bureta Faraimo, Carlos Tuimavave, Fetuli Talanoa, Scott Taylor, Danny Houghton, Dean Hadley, Mark Minichiello, Jordan Abdull, Danny Washbrook, Brd Fash, Jez Litten, Mickey Paea, Jack Logan, Jansin Turgut, Jack Downs, Hakim Miloudi, Masi Matongo, Cameron Scott, Liam Harris.
HEAD TO HEAD
Wakefield will look to end a eight match losing run against Hull FC on Sunday, with the last win for Trinity coming back in July of 2015.
The home side can count themselves unlucky not to have come away with anything from the previous two matches against the Black and Whites, with both being separated by just one point.
When these sides last met in April, FC narrowly won the game 27 – 26 thanks to tries from Jordan Abdull, Albert Kelly and Fetuli Talanoa (2) as well as five goals and the crucial drop goal from the boot of Marc Sneyd.
Bill Tupou and Mason Caton-Brown both scored twice each and James Batchelor also kicked five goals, but it wasn’t enough for the two competition points.
KEY BATTLE – David Fifita v Scott Taylor
It’ll be the battle of two of the biggest forward packs in the league on Sunday and both men who are tasked with leading their respective packs should collide in the middle of the park.
Fifita is a monster of a man, who teams still find difficult to tackle thanks to his hard running style or ability to fend off defenders and bounce away from them looking to put a dent somewhere else in the defensive line.
While Taylor is a slightly different prop, capable of playing long minutes without his performance dipping, that isn’t to say he can’t cause his own problems.
Since he arrived at Hull he has become one of the leagues great props and whenever he plays well, FC play well around him.
It’ll be crucial for both sides for their big men in the middle to set the tone and platform for the game should they want to come away with the victory.
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
Date:ย Sunday 22nd July 2018
Venue:ย The Mobile Rocket Stadium
Kick-off:ย 3:00pm
Referee:ย B. Thaler
WHO WILL WIN?
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