Hull FC travel to Wakefield Trinity on Thursday evening as they look to pick up their first since round one of the Super League season.
The Black and Whites were beaten by newly promoted York Knights last time out and they’ll be pushing to set the record straight against a Wakefield side, who share the same record after three games.
Wakefield pipped Hull to the final play-off spot last season, but neither team has impressed so far this season, with Daryl Powell’s side losing to Warrington Wolves last time out at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
It’s only round four, but it’s clear that the two points on offer at Belle Vue on Thursday are huge, with both sides needing to build up some continuity and push away from the bottom of the table.
Ahead of the contest, then, we’ve taken a look at the early team news.
Wakefield Trinity team news
Powell will definitely be without Tyson Smoothy this week after seeing the former Brisbane Broncos man fail a HIA in Saturday’s loss.
However, there’s a chance that Mason Lino could come back into the fold this week, with the scrum-half sitting out of the last two games due to a slight hamstring issue. He is expected to come back into contention this week but we won’t know for certain until Powell’s press conference on Wednesday.
Lachlan Walmsley is a doubt with a knee issue and while Tom Johnstone isn’t far away, he isn’t expected to feature this week.
Hull FC team news
The Black and Whites will be boosted by the return of Ligi Sao, who has missed the last two through suspension and following the departure of Liam Knight, that looks like a big boost. And, it seems as though former St Helens man James Bell is pushing to make his return to action this week.
Bell hasn’t played for Hull yet after picking up an injury in pre-season, but if he’s fit, he’ll be determined to make an impression in West Yorkshire.
Herman Ese’ese, Will Pryce are out long-term, while Joe Batchelor won’t be back until next month. However, Friday’s outing against York was a costly one for Hull with Jed Cartwright, Harvey Barron and Aidan Sezer all pick up knocks.
Coach John Cartwright provided an update on Monday, revealing that both Cartwright and Barron were awaiting scan results whilst Sezer would likely be a gameday decision after suffering an eye poke in the loss to York.
