Our Reserves team had their first outing of 2022 on Saturday when they faced a physical Oldham outfit at Vestacare Stadium.
The young Trinity side, captained by Thomas Minns, were exceptional and all played their part in an entertaining 24-24 draw.
After the game, we caught up with Mark Applegarth who was immensely proud of his players.
Read the full transcript below:
Q: What are your thoughts after the game?
I’m really proud of them all. I think the first team members led by example and the young lads, to say some haven’t played academy rugby yet, were outstanding. That’s a credit to Jay Pitts and T Arona for the work they are doing with the lads, plus our conditioner Ash Robinson. We knew it was going to be a tough ask against a physical Oldham pack and everyone stood up to that challenge. We expected to get opportunities in that final 20 minutes of each half and it played out how we thought. Overall, it was a really good exercise and I’m proud of them.
Q: To say a large chunk of the team hadn’t played for a long period of time, how pleased were you with the quality they showed?
I think at one point we had five 17-year-old’s on the field and three of them haven’t played for 18 months to two years, so that’s a massive achievement in itself. It just shows that we have some real good talent coming through the ranks, plus some good depth coming from the first team. It also highlights the importance of having a reserve grade and being able to give regular game time to the young lads trying to break in, and the full time lads that are pushing on to get into Super League. For us, it’s a real good start to 2022 in terms of giving everyone a run out and I’m looking forward to the season to see what that brings.
Q: How pleased are you that the reserves is back to present the players with the opportunity to have more game time?
For me, the reserves is the most important part of the professional pathway underneath Super League. At 18, before the reserves, you’re trying to make calls on players knowing they need another three years development. The only option was to send them out on loan, where they’re not getting your coaching and not in your environment, which isn’t ideal for anyone. It’s massive that it is back and hopefully every club buys into it and utilises it to be as effective as it can be.
Q: Whilst the young guys were outstanding, how happy were you with the experienced heads?
I thought the first team players, especially guys like Thomas Minns, led from the front and that’s what it’s all about. It was just a good day for Wakefield Trinity across the board and long may it continue that we can carry on producing players and offering them opportunities.