POCHING: THERE’S HOPE, DON’T BLOW IT
Wakefield v Wigan
Today, 3pm
WILLIE POCHING has warned his Jekyll and Hyde players not to blow the golden opportunity they have been handed.
Wakefield’s survival hopes were given a major boost on Thursday when Warrington beat bottom club Toulouse.
It means victory today could see the West Yorkshire side climb four points clear of their French rivals, with four games still to go. But
Poching knows that won’t happen if they dish up a repeat of the lacklustre first half of last week’s 20-16 defeat to Catalans.
He said: “We had strong words at halftime and got an attitude switch but we need to do that for 80 minutes.
“We need to be driven, motivated and energised every single week. It is in our hands.” Wakefield have already lost three times to Wigan this season, conceding 136 points and scoring 38.
But Poching said: “Overall we are in better form than the last time we played them and we’ve got a few more bodies around at the moment to pick from.” Recent Wigan signing Mike Cooper warned: “They are fighting for their lives. It’s always a tough place to go, the crowd are on top of you and it’s old school so we will need to be at our best.”
Wigan have lost two of their last five games, putting them under threat of losing second spot and home advantage in the play-offs.
Ethan Havard, Tommy Leuluai and John Bateman are crocked but Liam Farrell (left) could return from injury for Wigan.