Wakefield Trinity youngsters better for extra Super League experience, believes head coach Chris Chester

Wakefield travel to Warrington tomorrow night to face play-off chasing Wigan Warriors, still searching for their first win since Super League resumed last month.

It has been a difficult period for Trinity, with poor performances coupled with injuries leaving them with six defeats on the spin and little to play for in the second half of the season.

However, being able to blood some of the club’s upcoming talent has been a plus point for head coach Chris Chester, who is expecting to run on a smaller budget next year.

Every rugby league club has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the RFL estimating the sport is losing close to £2m a week by being forced to play behind closed doors.

With that in mind, getting the club’s younger stars up to speed will only bolster Trinity’s options in 2021.

“Five or six games with us this year will really help those younger guys,” said Chester.

“We have not been able to throw them out to any Championship clubs due to Covid but this experience is invaluable to them.

“We have just got to make sure we don’t throw too much at them, they have still got a lot of filling out and maturing to do.

“We will continue to nurture these young kids. I feel the young kids we have brought through this year are the best batch we have had since Tom Johnstone, Jordy Crowther and Max Jowitt came through.

“I am really excited about what the future holds, I am excited about seeing these guys grow from kids to adults and play more first-grade rugby at Wakefield Trinity.”

Chester expects Wakefield to lose a “substantial” sum of money ahead of next season, a figure which will only increase following the news that supporters will not be allowed to return to stadia on October 1, as originally planned.

The Trinity coach would like to sign an “organiser” at half-back but admits recruitment is going to prove a challenge.

“It is going to have an effect on every club in Super League. As a club we are going to lose a substantial amount of money, we are not quite sure what that amount is going to be,” he added.

“I have been given a budget to work with and that is what we have got to try and work with. It is very difficult there are no revenue streams coming into the club at the moment.

“We haven’t got a sugar daddy here at the club that is just going to come in and wipe those debts off.

“Our biggest outlay is the salary cap and this will hurt us in terms of recruitment. We are used to it, we can wait until that right person comes along.

“There are some good bargains about, we will just have to wait and see. We know as a club where we need to strengthen, we are very light in that half-back position. We are looking at an organiser to get us around the park, if that doesn’t happen then we have some work to do with the guys we have got here at the minute.

“We are speaking to agents but not pursuing anything until we know what effect Covid has had on the financial situation.”