Speaking with a Trinity fan at the pub last night.

He told me this is the best Wakfield squad and preparation the club has ever had in the SL era. Coach, Director of Rugby, new signings and squad depth he says he can't remember ever being so confident going into a season.

How right was he?

Well I sincerely hope he's right - not like belly to be that positive

I agree that in terms of behind the scenes the club is being run as well as I can remember (not a difficult task to be fair) we seem to be cutting our cloth and putting out a decent side. Mr Carter deserves a massive pat on the back and a few pints at least.

Backroom staff? Well, Chester has still got a bit to prove for me, we had a great run last year but petered out quite tamely in the end. Partly injuries, but also a sense of taking our foot off the gas once we had secured top 8 finish.

I reckon Kear will be a great addition, very experienced, knows the club, worked miracles with Batley last year and a good eye for a signing.

As for the playing staff - Our backline looks as strong has it has since 2006 imo. If Johnstone and Jowitt can build on their impressive seasons last year and Caton-Brown and BJB can deliver, we look formidable in that area.

Halves - now we have 3! and arguably a significant improvement with Sam Williams coming in. The competition won't hurt either as Miller drifted in and out of form and good to have options to mix it up.

Pack - This is potentially our achilles heel unfortunately. We have got Fifita back, and England who we know can do the business. But Keegan Hirst is untested at this level, Kirmo is another year older and we have Sio and Wood to cover Hooker. Would really like to see another quality prop added if possible, having lost Scruton and Simon.

All in all I'm quite optimistic, but as usual with Wakey, we are gonna need to hit our potential fairly regularly to make any inroads in the league!

As a whole team, I'd say it is certainly the best team we've put out in a long time. Added to that an improvement in coaching staff and we could be on to a winner. There's a good mixture between youth and experience, as well as home grown and imported talent. The biggest thing for me though is the optimism coming from the club, hopefully this will improve their mental strength which I think has been the biggest failing in recent years

Touch unfair on the pack which clearly isn't complete. Clearly Allgood is on his way unless something really unexpected happens and he is a big unit also Arona and Ashurst are fine players. I'd say the pack is already bigger and stronger than last year though Simon needs replacing.

For me the only real loss is Moore who I can't see us replacing with anyone near as good. I also thing both Wood and Finn are halfbacks who can play as hookers which is ok but not ideal.

What really matter is that the final line up develops a team spirit and a understanding and a bit of ticker and we won't know that until we are three or four games into the season. This is why I tend to take expert pre season predictions with a pinch of salt.

Responding to the initial post I always thought that Shane Mcnally's squad that reached the play offs was the best Trin team I'd seen in the last 30 years, but always felt that JK's team which lost Tronc, Brough & Newton all in the early part of the season could've gone onto big things!

Yes potentially we are looking good and am quietly optimistic about 2017.

Hard to say for definate as we still have a couple of players to come in.

Hopefully with a bit of depth in the backs, halves and pack there could be times in 2017 where we could rotate the squad to avoid fatigue. Another reason why I would prefer to bring in a specialist hooker rather than Finn, Sio and Wood filling in.

When was the last time we could say that about our squad.

Off the field things appear to be going quite well for us.

We are just lacking one thing, stability home wise

Hard to beat the 2004 Squad, complete Joy to watch and incredibly difficult to beat at BV (went from early June to Oct unbeaten at home)

The Domic/Solomona combo was a dream to watch.

Easily my fave SL season.

Agree. We don't have anyone to touch Solomona or Domic individually, but I would say our back line has great potential to be a lethal attacking force.
We do need at least two props in my opinion - there must surely be a good reason why they are not in place already.

Although I totally agree that the 2004 team was the best SL team (imo the best I've seen in 30 years of supporting) I don't however agree about Domic and Solomona who show more than any other signings we've ever made what a gamble it can be. I have no reason to not believe that for example Fifita wont find his inner Andrew or that Johnstone won't move on to being the most lethal winger in the game which IMHO would make them just as special as Domic and even Solomona all be it in different ways.

Solomona was a rising star 18 month previous to joining us then his form dipped dramatically and he was playing reserve grade by late 2003. The main reason we got him was because everyone else had forgotten about him. Though it raised eyebrows most considered him a maverick and a big risk.

Domic was considered a bit of a sick note when he left Warrington and was considered an OK signing at best.

Along with a virtualy unknown JD these signings tranformed what was mainly the 2003 team who were basically a poor (2nd from bottom) outfit into a machine. Added to this we had a one season wonder coach as opposed to a one season wonder team which IMO is why we never kicked on.

The 2004 team wasn't just great to watch it gives you hope as to just how quickly things can change for the better and the worse which isn't so good. Wakefield are like a number of SL teams, it wouldn't take much to turn it around. Despite Belly's Cas obsession they are exactly the same only difference is that they risk going the other way now. Good teams at clubs like ours are very short lived and soon get picked over if the momentumn starts to fade even momentarily.

Sam Williams, Catton-Brown, Hirst, Woods etc may all turn out to be inspired but they may not and the 2004 team proves that. Anyone who was around in 2004 and states that they knew that would be a great team is a liar, we all expected another relegation battle. So now we do the only thing as fans we can do, support and encourage the lads and cross our fingers.

I think that on Paper the squad at the start of the 2010 season was the best we have had, I really do think that team could have gone places. It was such a shame that arguably the 3 best players left before we even got to May for a variety of reasons.

That 2004 squad really gave us some good stuff to watch. If there's one game I enjoy repeatedly watching its the play off win at Hull. Was it three of our guys Kirkpatrick sin-binned early doors? Even young Mark Field and Rob Spicer looked the part and pulled their weight.
Then so near in the next game at Wigan.

Wonder how Field compares with Jowitt? McNally flogged him to death in a much weaker side the following season.

Big difference is that Jowitt is a F/B and wants to play there. Field was a Centre and was always uncomfortable in the F/B roll. What happened to Field was really sad, should of had a much long career were it not for one mans pig headed attitude.

Maybe a little unfair on the pack, but we were well beaten there a few times last year. I remain to be convinced by Allgood myself, but obviously hoping to be wrong.

None of the pack are bad players,but I just think it's a weak spot compared to the rest of the team. Fifita has a lot on his shoulders at the moment.

Squad coming together well 1 to 5 strong pack in general looking ok lets hope Danny has more luck on the injury front
The big problem for me is 1/ Hooker if we lose Moore and 2/ half back Finn for me has a rugby brain and is an excellent kicker but lacks the pace to play in SL Powell saw that and let him go
Miller up to now is far too inconsistent Wood will provide excellent cover at 7 or 9 I see miller and Williams starting but ideally we are lacking a quality half back problem being not many about

I generally know better than to pick you up on stuff, but you're wrong here. There was some genuine excitement about the 2004 side and I, for one, was over the moon at signing Domic (ask Eric Timmons), whilst I knew little of Solomona other than getting wrapped up in the soundings of people like yourself who had seen him play.

I would also agree that 2010 beckoned to be a great year and it was so frustrating the way it dwindled.

2017 looks well, but it won't be all that if we can't sort the remaining issues in the squad, including the Hooking role. The halves, three quarters and generally the back row are sorted and there is much to look forward to, but we are short of numbers in the front row in this modern era where 20 games is a good return. Just a couple more players could really get us something to rave about though!

There may well have been some excitement but I don't think anyone was expecting a genuine top 6 team that came within inches of winning two play off games that's the point.

This team is a team that could do similar or the opposite - with clubs like us it's so hard to predict but at least thanks to the 2004 team we at least know it's possible.

There may well have been some excitement but I don't think anyone was expecting a genuine top 6 team that came within inches of winning two play off games that's the point.

This team is a team that could do similar or the opposite - with clubs like us it's so hard to predict but at least thanks to the 2004 team we at least know it's possible.

Think the 2004 team was the fittest we've had in super league. Geoff evans was the conditioner if im right. We would be outlasting teams and running full tilt in the last half hour. Think a big reason it went downhill in 2005 was Evans left and was replaced with a body builder (Trypass), that and the Ellis saga and Julien oneil made for a crap season. Imagine if wed of kicked on eh

Okay okay I got it first time!



Fair comments though!

Easily the fittest. We used to go in at HT with fairly even scorelines and then blow teams away in the second half.

www.totalrl.com/garry-schofield- ... edictions/ Gary Schofield talks nonsense......predicting Trinity will finish 11th and saying the following... Last year they had a great season, and the appointment of Chris Chester was a masterstroke because if Brian Smith had stayed they’d now be in the Championship. The halfbacks worked well for them last year and I think they need to keep faith in them. They don’t have the biggest pack of forwards, but they do well at home and they’ll pick up enough points at Belle Vue to keep them off the bottom. Don't have the biggest forwards? David Fifita 6 foot 4 tall 18 1/2 stone Anthony England 6 foot 4 tall 17 1/2 stone Keegan Hirst 6 foot 4 tall 18 stone Anthony Walker 6 foot tall 16 1/2 stone Danny Kirmond 6 foot 1 tall 16 stone Johnny Molloy 6 foot 2 tall 16 stone Tinirau Arona 5 foot 11 tall 16 stone Matty Ashurst 6 foot 2 tall 15 1/2 stone This doesn't include a possible Mitchell Allgood 6 foot 4 tall 17 stone or Craig Huby 6 foot 2 tall 17 stone...As for his comments about 'keeping faith with the same half backs' we have also made one of the best possible signings in Sam Williams who has to be one of the first on the team sheet at scrum half. If Trinity sign Allgood and Huby it's worth a press release like Giants did a couple of years ago emphasising that they had one of the biggest packs in Super League but Trinity can in addition to a big pack also emphasise that they also have one of the quickest back lines in Super League with Johnstone, Caton-Brown, Jones-Bishop, Lynne, Miller and Jowitt

www.totalrl.com/garry-schofield- ... edictions/ Gary Schofield talks nonsense......predicting Trinity will finish 11th and saying the following... Last year they had a great season, and the appointment of Chris Chester was a masterstroke because if Brian Smith had stayed they’d now be in the Championship. The halfbacks worked well for them last year and I think they need to keep faith in them. They don’t have the biggest pack of forwards, but they do well at home and they’ll pick up enough points at Belle Vue to keep them off the bottom. Don't have the biggest forwards? David Fifita 6 foot 4 tall 18 1/2 stone Anthony England 6 foot 4 tall 17 1/2 stone Keegan Hirst 6 foot 4 tall 18 stone Anthony Walker 6 foot tall 16 1/2 stone Danny Kirmond 6 foot 1 tall 16 stone Johnny Molloy 6 foot 2 tall 16 stone Tinirau Arona 5 foot 11 tall 16 stone Matty Ashurst 6 foot 2 tall 15 1/2 stone This doesn't include a possible Mitchell Allgood 6 foot 4 tall 17 stone or Craig Huby 6 foot 2 tall 17 stone...As for his comments about 'keeping faith with the same half backs' we have also made one of the best possible signings in Sam Williams who has to be one of the first on the team sheet at scrum half. If Trinity sign Allgood and Huby it's worth a press release like Giants did a couple of years ago emphasising that they had one of the biggest packs in Super League but Trinity can in addition to a big pack also emphasise that they also have one of the quickest back lines in Super League with Johnstone, Caton-Brown, Jones-Bishop, Lynne, Miller and Jowitt

Schofield was a talented but lazy player and he's just carried that on in later life fuelling it with beer. He has a right to say what he wishes but no longer has any right to be taken seriously.

Problem is that assumptive attitudes and inability to check the facts is endemic in our game and is shown most graphically on the these forums where pre-concieved opinion rulse the day. Even some of our own fans seem to lack even the most basic grasps of what we have in our team and what it's possible capabilities are. Of course its all on paper for now and this team could easily prove to be a damp squib like so many others, no one can predict what will happen in that respect for now. However some things are certainties even on paper and size of players is one of them.

I share your frustrations on this issue, how difficult can it be to check the facts you half cut, bone idle waste of time - that's Schofield not you. Oh and anybody leaping to the once quite good footballers defence, I would say it to his face all be it slightly more politely.

Agreed. Lazy journalism. Exciting times for Trinity with how this squad is shaping..

Let him or anyone else talk all they want, one of our biggest assets for many years has been our opponents underestimating us due to ill informed preseason predictions by so called experts.