Wakefield Trinity are flying high in Super League but their club occupied none of the top ten players in the recent Man of Steel voting, something that head coach Daryl Powell has now commented on.
Powell has also taken aim at the Super League fixture makers given that Trinity are set to face local rivals Castleford for the second time in just four rounds.
Wakefield will host the Tigers tonight in the reverse of Rivals Round, however, the teams also faced off at Magic Weekend earlier in the month with every fixture this round having also been played earlier in the month.
Playing many of the competition’s marquee fixtures all on the same round and twice in less than a month is a decision that has confused some, including Daryl Powell.
When asked during his pre-match presser if he felt the games should be spread out better, Powell quipped: “Ask the computer. The computer says no. The computer says no, doesn’t it?”
He’d add: “Just have some common sense about it, that’d be handy.”
Crucial top-four battle, St Helens to beat Wigan and Rovers to win Hull derby – Click here to watch the Serious About Rugby League Predictions Show!
Most Read on Serious About Rugby League
Wakefield Trinity players urged to use Man of Steel snub as motivation
Common sense could have also been applied better when the Man of Steel panel met to pick out their top ten players from rounds 10-18, with Wakefield surprisingly snubbed.
Trinity won seven of their nine games during that period, losing only to league leaders Leeds Rhinos and second-place Wigan Warriors, with whom Wakefield are level on points.
Leeds saw four players named inside the Man of Steel top 10 this week whilst Wigan have one representative but Wakefield are without any, despite their strong form and standout performances from the likes of Jake Trueman, Tyson Smoothy, Caleb Hamlin-Uele and others.
On that snub, Powell urged his players to use it as fuel, stating: “It’s a subjective vote, isn’t it? I think our boys should use it as motivation that none of them are in there.
“I don’t worry about that too much. We’ve all got our own opinions. My opinion is I’m not sure it’s right, but look, subjectivity is what it is.”
Powell also confirmed that he’d not spoken to his players about it, adding: “I haven’t spoke about it. At times I do, this sort of thing, but I haven’t done too much.
“I think the boys will take it on themselves to talk about that amongst themselves. But no, I don’t think they make too much of it.
