‘More wins’ will come for Dewsbury says Wakefield Trinity head coach Daryl Powell after league leaders ‘challenged’ by rock-bottom Rams

Despite not being at their fluent best, a much-changed Wakefield recovered from a surprising early set-back to run in eight tries, including a hat-trick for Max Jowitt, in a 42-16 win to re-establish their seven point lead at the top of the table.

“I am pleased that we got the win,” Powell told the Wakefield Express and Reporter Series after the game. “I thought it was a scrappy game. Dewsbury challenged us and scored first. It was well executed but pretty poor system-wise from us.”

He added: “We changed the team around again and rested a few people because they need looking after. It’s been a challenging period for us but we’ve come out of the other side of a game we were expected to win. That’s what we have done, whilst we aren’t totally happy with our performance.

“We will move on from it quickly to the bigger challenge that Sheffield will present on Friday night.”

Regular full-back Jowitt scored his terrific treble from the halves, where he was partnered with Liam Hood while Luke Gale, who announced his retirement from the game earlier in the week, was one of those players handed a rest.

Powell said: “Max is playing at half-back and doing a pretty good job. He is a natural full-back and he is scoring points for fun. He stepped out of a few challenges today to score and did a good job at half.

“It was a nice half-back combination again with him and Liam Hood and I thought they did pretty well. They haven’t had too much time together, they had three training sessions this week and we didn’t train great to be honest.

“Players in different positions take a bit of time. Ultimately, we needed to win the game and we did comfortably in the end.”

The result leaves Dewsbury still searching for a first win since their Round 2 success against Batley Bulldogs. But Powell, who has coached a handful of Rams’ players in the past, believes “more wins” are just around the corner.

He said: “They have been challenging teams and they have got a few young players that I’ve been involved with in the past.

“I thought Calum Turner played really well. He was probably one of the best players on the field. He was really dangerous with his passing game and playing really deep into the line, which we allowed a little bit.

“Joe Summers is someone who I have worked with at Castleford, and Lewis Carr. They have got some very good players. They are very young and they will get some more wins, I’m sure. It is always pretty tough to play here.”

Powell’s opposite number, Paul March, was proud of his players’ efforts, especially the start they made which saw Perry Whiteley go over for the game’s first try.

He said: “They tried to bully us a bit and put a marker down on the game. We came out of that first set but kicked deep, got the ball back and I knew that if we got hold of the ball then we could ask questions in our attack.

“The first opportunity we did just that. Cal Turner played a nice ball out of the back and created space for Perry to go over in the corner. It was a deserved start but they are a full-time outfit and that fitness, budget and skill came through in the end.

“When you play the top teams you have got to be on your game and it could have been so easy for us to give up, go into our shell and they walk away with it.

“We played for the full 80 minutes.”

After Jowitt had restored parity, Elliot Morris’ sin-binning allowed Harvey Smith and Ky Rodwell for a quick-fire double as Wakefield took charge against 12 men.

“I was disappointed with the sin-bin,” March said. “There were more than three or four decisions where the officials totally got it wrong. He got the sin-binning wrong because he got the wrong person.

“There were a few more where there were a couple of errors that led to tries. In hindsight, it could have been a bit closer. Overall, effort-wise was really good and we executed when we needed to.”

Zeus Silk, who arrived at the Rams from Featherstone Rovers earlier in the week with captain Jimmy Beckett moving in the opposite direction, scored a try on his debut.

“Zeus brings a lot of energy,” said March. “He has been at this level before. I thought he was outstanding to get a try on debut.

“Jimmy went the other way. We sat down and spoke. He’s been right for the club. He does 80 minutes nearly every week, steered the ship this year and last year getting the team promoted.

“With Zeus coming in, I think it’s a good deal.”