Crusaders v Wildcats: Teams
Head Coach Brian Noble has made just one change to his Crusaders squad for Sunday's home clash against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.
Last Updated: 25/06/10 6:28pm
Head Coach Brian Noble has made just one change to his Crusaders squad for Sunday's home clash against Wakefield.
Noble has asked returning loose-forward Rocky Trimarchi to stand in for leading try-scorer Vince Mellars at centre after the Kiwi was ruled out with a shoulder injury.
Noble is still missing a number of key players including Gareth Thomas (groin) Michael Witt (knee) and Jarrod Sammut (cheekbone).
But Noble is confident that the forced absences will not cause too many problems for the in-form Crusaders.
"Things won't change too much," he told the club website www.crusadersrfl.com "And the sprits and confidence have been lifted tremendously after last week's result against Leeds.
Formula
"We didn't focus on injuries last week or the week before that. You are generally helped by the number of people you have on deck but we believe we still have enough in our arsenal to trouble teams."
Following a string of good performances, Noble wants his players to stay focused for the crucial clash against the Wildcats.
A win against John Kear's men would put the Wrexham side a step closer to the top eight.
"We have now found a formula for ourselves, which is good," He added. "We have got to keep investing in the ingredients that we have found and it will be a tough game on Sunday.
"We are at home, we want to do well at home and we want to put in a performance for the home fans.
Wakefield will be looking to halt a three-game losing run at the Racecourse in what has turned into a positive week for the Wildcats after Kear snubbed a move to Catalans.
Dangerous
They must do so however, without the injured Dale Ferguson (hernia) and Luke George, who looks likely to be replaced by Dale Morton.
Despite their string of poor results Noble knows he would be foolish to underestimate his opponents and is aware they are eager for a win.
"We are facing a team that hasn't won for a few games and they have got some good players in their team." He said.
"It's a dangerous game; we have looked at what they do. All they need is the bounce of the ball to get back on track.
"They are above us in the league ladder, on paper they are a better team than us and we have got to show that we are in the mix with them and other teams. We have been building towards that in the last two weeks.
"We are looking forward to it. Wakefield is a great challenge for us and it is that element of consistency that needs challenging for us."
Crusaders: 2. Nick Youngquest, 3. Tony Martin, 8. Ryan O'Hara, 9. Lincoln Withers, 10. Mark Bryant, 11. Weller Hauraki, 12. Jason Chan, 13. Rocky Trimarchi, 14. Luke Dyer, 16. Frank Winterstien, 17. Adam Peek, 19. Jordan James, 20. Ben Flower, 21. Lloyd White, 22. Elliot Kear, 23. Peter Lutpon, 26. Clinton Schifcofske, 27. Rhys Hanbury, 28. Gil Dudson
Wakefield:1. Matt Blaymire, 2. Damien Blanch, 3. Sean Gleeson, 4. Darryl Millard, 6. Ben Jeffries, 10. Michael Korkidas, 12. Glenn Morrison, 13. Jason Demetriou, 14. Sam Obst, 16. Paul Johnson, 17. Kevin Henderson, 18. Aaron Murphy, 19. Paul King, 21. Paul Cooke, 23. Dale Morton, 25. Richard Moore, 32. Danny Kirmond, 35. Charlie Leaeno, 36. Julien Rinaldi.