BRAD ARTHUR is full of admiration for the Wakefield Trinity side who will be looking to deal a blow to Leeds Rhinos’ League Leaders’ Shield aspirations on Friday.
Leeds are two points ahead of Wakefield and Wigan at the summit heading into a huge West Yorkshire derby at the DIY Kitchens Stadium.
The fortunes of both clubs have risen greatly under their respective coaches, with Australian boss Arthur taking Leeds from outside the play-offs to fourth last season and currently top of the table with six rounds to play.
Wakefield’s growth has been even more extraordinary under Daryl Powell, going straight from the Championship to the top six last season, and now sitting second.
And Arthur isn’t surprised to see Trinity in Shield contention, saying: “Last year they showed a lot of potential.
“They learned from their first year back in Super League and they’ve done a really good job. Of late they’ve been one of the form teams.
“They’re backing it up from week to week. They start strong and finish the game strong as well. They move the ball around and score plenty of points.
“They’re well coached. They know exactly what each other’s role is and they do a good job of doing their job from 1-17. I think we’re similar.
“It’s a really good contest that we’re looking forward to, it’s another challenging test for us.”
Especially so away from home, with Wakefield only losing twice on their own patch (both times against Wigan Warriors) since round one.
Leeds, themselves unbeaten at home all year, were turned over in the Challenge Cup fourth round in March, losing 24-14, before earning some revenge at AMT Headingley two months later.
Arthur, who has his captain Ash Handley back available after three weeks out with appendicitis, said: “There is a slight advantage to the home team.
“The crowd will get behind them, but we have good travelling fans who will get right behind us.
“Once we get out on the field it shouldn’t matter where you’re playing or what surface you’re playing on – we need to go and own our jobs, focus on the things we’ve been really good at, and do it for a full 80 minutes.”