Chester admits he’s got selection headaches for opening round after Huddersfield win

Wakefield coach Chris Chester admits it’s going to be tough to whittle his squad down to just 17 players for the opening round of the season at London next weekend, after they ended their pre-season campaign with another victory on Tuesday night.

Trinity were 28-24 winners over Huddersfield, with a number of players impressing for the hosts throughout.

With a big squad to pick from and only forward Pauli Pauli injured – though the severity of his setback is yet to be determined – Chester has plenty of choice for the trip to the capital next week.

And he said: “I’ve got some very tough decisions to make. It’s not going to be easy to finalise a 17 for that game at London; who I start in the front row will be tough, for example. Who I start at fullback (either Ryan Hampshire or Max Jowitt) is another tough call for me. It’s a nice dilemma to have.”

One player who came in for particular praise from Chester was youngster Jordan Crowther – who again put in an impressive display on Friday to leave Chester admitting he’s very much in his thinking for the opening round.

“The change in tempo out there came when we brought on Tinirau Arona, Anthony England and Jordan,” Chester said.

“He was excellent, Jordan: probably my man-of-the-match. He’s very close for the opening round; what you get with Jordy is plenty of energy, and he gave us that in abundance. He’s given me food for thought for next week.”

And star signing Danny Brough once again came in for praise from the Wakefield coach – following another impressive display, this time against the club he left at the end of last season in order to sign for Trinity.

“I thought his kicking game was excellent,” Chester said. “Defensively, I don’t think there was a try scored down his side. I’m really pleased with Danny’s contribution on and off the field. HIs kicking game is going to win games on its own for us.”