Wakefield coach Chris Chester has admitted the club have held ‘early discussions’ with Liam Finn over a potential new contract.
The 34-year-old’s contract with Trinity expires at the end of this season, but the Ireland international has suggested he would like to play on in 2019 if possible.
And Chester told League Express that Finn already knows Wakefield want him at the club next year.
He said: “We’ve had some early discussions with Liam. He knows where we stand and vice-versa, but we’re in no particular rush – and I don’t think he is.
“He understands that we want him at the club but there’s five or six other guys who are off-contract that we’ve not actually sat down and discussed their futures with yet.
“He just brings a calmness to the group – him, Scott Grix and Danny Kirmond can do that. In terms of game-management, it’s good to have Finny out on that field.”
Chester also suggested they will begin negotiations with the rest of their out-of-contract players imminently, too, ahead of the May 1 date by where clubs can start speaking to players whose contracts are up at the end of the season.
“Those discussions will begin over the next couple of weeks; we just wanted to get out of the mess we were in for those five games – and it’s funny how many people come knocking on your door from elsewhere when you snap that poor form. But the guys coming off-contract? We’ll sit down with them soon.”
Wakefield travel to Castleford on Friday, and Chester could yet call on prop David Fifita, who returned from Australia last week following some time with his family.
Fifita, however, is nursing a groin problem which Trinity are in no mood to risk in case of a setback.
“In all honesty, I think he needs another week or two,” Chester said of Fifita.
“His groin is still not 100 per cent, and we don’t want to get into the situation of playing him and losing him for a few weeks after that. We’ll see how he goes over the next week or so; he trained on his own with the physio when he came back from Australia, and it’s just an ongoing issue with him.
“But he’s come back in a good spot mentally; it was important we gave him some time off to see his wife and kids – and I think that will have done him the world of good. You can see he’s come back refreshed with a smile on his face.”
