Ex-England star Luke Gale might have to wait even longer for his Wakefield debut with boss Mark Applegarth insisting he won’t let romance sway his decision.
The former Leeds scrum-half joined from Championship part-timers Keighley just over a week ago to aid their fight against relegation but wasn’t picked for Friday’s defeat at Warrington. Gale, 34, does hope to make his bow against Hull FC - where he spent a turbulent time last year - in Thursday night’s televised Betfred Super League game. But as bottom-placed Trinity look to finally get off the mark after 11 straight losses, Applegarth conceded current half-back Morgan Smith upped his game following the ex-Man of Steel’s arrival.
He said: “I was really happy with Morgan Smith. I thought he responded really well to the challenges we set him after that Leigh game. I’ve always said if you do your job, it’s your shirt to lose. Morgan’s done that so we’ll wait and see but it’s definitely given me a good headache. He’ll give me plenty of sleepless nights if he carries on playing like that.
"Luke Gale will have a big part to play for Wakefield Trinity. But Morgan did exactly what I asked of him and I was really happy with how he got himself into that game against Warrington. He scored a lovely well-deserved try . You pick on performance. You try to create that competition so it keeps everyone on their toes. Morgan’s responded to it really well and Galey’s been helping Morgs loads too. That’s the beauty of it all."
Gale captained Hull during a difficult season last term, suffering injuriues and incurring bans before being let go and ending up in the second tier. Clearly, he’d love to get the chance to take them on and Applegarth admitted: “It’d have a bit of extra meaning. But it’s a bigger game than just Luke Gale and Hull. It’s about the team and he’d be the first one to say it’s team-first mentality. We will do what’s right for our team and not just do the romance story that everyone would say about Luke Gale playing against his old club.”
Applegarth’s initial reasons for not picking Gale was fitness after he’d been playing semi-professional. He said: “Initially it was just purely that. We’re very conscious we train on a 4G surface at Dewsbury and he’d come from a bit heavier surface at Keighley. Being a bit older, the training intensity here had ramped up a bit for him as well. It’s just making sure we didn’t rush him back and increase that spike in injury.
“He’s been great for the group. He’s been training hard. Obviously he looks after himself as you can see through his body condition."
Wakefield's Liam Kay will miss the game with an infected leg wound so Tom Lineham or Lee Kershaw will come in.
