Wakefield Trinity’s battling qualities are coming to the fore says Mason Lino

WAKEFIELD Trinity scrum-half Mason Lino says the squad’s new-found resilience is underpinning their improved form.
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They fought back from 10-0 down to win 25-18 at Hull KR on Thursday night.

It was a second victory in three games since Willie Poching took over as caretaker coach following Chris Chester’s sacking.

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Lino said: “It was good. Hull KR have been playing well so it was great to come through and get the win there like we did.

“We didn’t start too well. We didn’t get our contact right in that first 20 minutes.

“But we showed real resilience to turn that around and get a couple of tries before half-time.

“Overall, we played with a lot of desire to defend our line like we did.

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“They were on our goalline for a fair bit in periods but we held them out.”

TEAM ETHIC: Mason Lino believes Wakefield Trinity have shown real resilience in recent matches. Picture: Alex Whitehead/SWPix.com.TEAM ETHIC: Mason Lino believes Wakefield Trinity have shown real resilience in recent matches. Picture: Alex Whitehead/SWPix.com.
TEAM ETHIC: Mason Lino believes Wakefield Trinity have shown real resilience in recent matches. Picture: Alex Whitehead/SWPix.com.

The skilled Samoan created two of Trinity’s four tries, firstly with a perfectly-weighted grubber for full-back Ryan Hampshire and then a defence-spitting pass that saw Jay Pitts cross as they took control.

Wakefield host Leeds Rhinos next on Monday and Lino admitted: “We’ve been practicing a lot of shape and trying different things.

“We’ve put that shape on every week so it was nice to see Pittsy go through for one like he did.

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“Willie’s not changed too much. He’s just wanting us to play with more energy and some grit.

“We’ve shown that and we’re starting to get results.

“He is keeping it simple and we’ve got a couple of wins now.”

Trinity’s star man against play-offs hopefuls Rovers was arguably Kelepi Tanginoa, the former Manly Sea Eagles forward who was unstoppable at times.

Lino, 27, said: “It’s great being on the same team as him rather than against him, especially as a half.

“He’s such a dangerous player and a massive asset for us.”

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Lino, meanwhile, is in the first year of a three-year deal at Belle Vue after joining from NRL club Newcastle Knights.

“I didn’t start the season like I wanted,” he conceded.

“It took me a few games to get used to the style here.

“But I’ve slowly started to find my feet and I am enjoying it.

“We’ve got four games left now and I want to try and put some consistent performances together.

“We’ve got a good crowd down here and they all love to play footy.

“Leeds are on fire lately so Monday will be a good test to see how far we have come.

“I can’t wait to get back out there in front of our fans and try and get another win sorted.”