Kirmond: Defensive work has been key at Wakefield Trinity

He said: “Confidence has been a big thing for us but it comes down to the effort we have put in.

“We have addressed the inadequacies from last season, particularly defending our own line, and we are now confident in our defence and we are actually enjoying defending.

“We shipped a lot of points last season and there were questions of our defence but the pack is now really strong and it is now easier to defend on the edge because we know the middle is so strong.”

While Trinity have enjoyed a magnificent run of results, they have also been forced to fight back in recent outings.

However, the Wakefield skipper is not getting overly-concerned.

He said: “We have probably been better when we have been behind and we are confident that we can get back into games.

“The lads have shown a great deal of character to get out of losing positions.”

He added: “Last year, when teams got ahead they would run away from us but that’s not the case this year because everyone works so hard.”

Kirmond is keen to keep his troops’ feet firmly on the ground, despite Trinity’s lofty position, but he also wants to push on. “We are not getting carried away but we are also not scared of saying we want to win and go on to achieve better things this year.

“There is still a long way to go and there are teams below us who are more than capable of putting together a run of wins.”