“Deflated” Wakefield Trinity coach Chris Chester takes heart from second-half fightback against Hull FC

Having led 6-0 at home to third-placed Hull, Wakefield found themselves 14 points adrift at the break and 20-6 down in the third quarter before rallying to score the game’s final two tries.

Chester felt the 26-16 defeat was similar to the week before at St Helens, when Trinity made a positive start but were blown away for a spell in the first half.

“I thought there was plenty of fight in the second half,” he said. “We were probably guilty of trying to play too much and some individuals trying too hard. Some individuals are not playing their best rugby at the moment, but defensively in the second half we kept turning up for each other.”

Chester was impressed with the debut performances of midweek signings Morgan Escare and Adam Tangata.

Tangata was among Trinity’s substitutes, but Escare played the full game, starting on the left-wing and later switching to full-back.

Of the Frenchman, on loan from Wigan Warriors, Chester enthused: “I thought he was fantastic.

“It was always the plan to put him at full-back after 30 minutes and he looks devastating out of the back.

“He created some three-versus-two plays and I was pleased with him.”

Ten defeats from their last 11 league games have left Trinity ninth in Betfred Super League, two points above bottom club London Broncos.

Chester has banned talk about the table and what other teams in the relegation fight are doing and he insisted: “We have got to keep positive.

“I think one win will do it for us and the sooner we get that win, the better for everybody.

“We are fighting for our lives and in the second half we showed we want to work hard for each other, but we have got to stop having those lapses of concentration.

“They seem to be when the bench comes on. We were controlling the game, but they got a bit of a lucky try and then an intercept and then they scored three unanswered tries after that.

“I thought our effort was great but we can’t afford to keep having those brain explosions.”