Full complement essential if KR are going to mix it with the best
WAKEFIELD PROP David Fifita insists they can turn their faltering season around – and stay out of the scrap for Super League survival.
Tonight’s game at Widnes Vikings is significant at the bottom of the table, but Fifita says the bottom four isn’t Trinity’s concern.
Eight defeats from their last 10 Betfred Super League matches have left Trinity seventh in the table, three points ahead of improving Huddersfield Giants in ninth.
Giants visit Salford Red Devils, who are one place and two points adrift of Trinity, this evening and whatever happens there, if Wakefield lose they will be left uncomfortably close to the bottom four with seven games remaining in the regular season.
Fifita said the defeat against Giants in Newcastle was a costly one, but they had moved on from it.
He said: “If we’d got that one it would have made a big difference between us and ninth.”
But he stressed: “It doesn’t matter now, we will just look forward – we are still looking up.
“They [Huddersfield] are still behind us and we are not looking down at all.
“We are still looking up and trying to chase down the teams above us. “We have got the team to do it.” Chris Annakin could return from injury for Trinity tonight and Anthony England is available after illness. Max Jowitt, Tom Johnstone and James Batchelor are in contention for a recall, with Liam Finn, Matty Ashurst and knee-injury victim Craig Huby dropping out.
Widnes are without Rhys Hanbury and Jimmy Keinhorst from the team beaten by St Helens. IF Hull KR are to have any chance of defeating in-form Wigan Warriors tonight they must keep 13 men on the pitch.
That is the opinion of Kieren Moss, their Australian winger who feels they could have won their last two games if they had done just that.
As it stands, Rovers are bottom of Super League despite a series of encouraging performances.
Moss, for instance, scored a hat-trick in Sunday’s Magic Weekend game with Hull FC only to still end up on the losing side.
Furthermore, they pushed Wigan – who have won their last eight games – close in the Challenge Cup less than a fortnight ago but eventually lost out after Danny Tickle’s red card.
“We showed we can tough it out with them and go right to the death with them,” said Moss.
“But unfortunately we had a man sent off as well and it happened on Sunday, too, with 12 men on the field (Nick Scruton being sin-binned versus Hull).
“We just can’t let those things happen any more. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot and we’ll have to do better.”
He is unlikely to play tonight, though, as fellow countryman Justin Carney hopes to be back from a shoulder injury that had sidelined him for the last three matches.
Moss, 24, had spent most of the season on dual-registration at York City Knights where he is League 1’s top-scorer and has 14 tries in just 10 appearances.
But the former Parramatta Eels player, who joined from Bradford Bulls 18 months ago, showed he can handle Super League with his recent performances against Hull and Wakefield Trinity.
On his time at York, where he could return, Moss said: “I just tried to stay positive.
“I just thought if I keep playing well and keep training an opportunity will open up.
“It was nice to get that hat-trick in the derby but they were tries any winger should finish. He’d be expected to do that.
“I just have to keep working hard to get a place here.”