DARYL POWELL hailed forward Isaiah Vagana for an “outstanding” performance in Wakefield Trinity’s 18-14 victory over Leigh Leopards.
Vagana, son of former New Zealand star Joe Vagana, has been ever-present so far in his second season at Wakefield and his coach believes he’s gone up a level.
“I thought he was outstanding, carrying the ball but also defensively,” said Powell.
“He’s putting himself about. I said a few things to him in the off-season leading into the pre-season.
“I know he went home and had good chat with his dad who wasn’t a bad player.
“It looks like he’s heeded that as he comes back and was immense tonight.”
Powell was less happy with a team performance he labelled as “pretty average”.
He added: “I’m really pleased with the two points but I thought Leigh were great for the injuries they had.
“We didn’t back up what we did last week (beating Leeds). Sometimes that happens, but I know we can play better and we have to.
“I don’t think we matched their physicality. Their line speed and intent was a bit better than ours across the 80 minutes.
“We played with our eyes closed a bit in the first half. We needed to be more positive.
“Then there were six penalties and three restarts in the second half, which is asking for trouble.
“But we’re not going to be flying all year. It’s a win, and it’s a big win for us.”