Desperate Or Inspired? Fifita Return Could Give Wakefield A Bit Of Hope At Last

The 'Big Bopper' is back at Belle Vue
08:00, 02 Jun 2023

Some are calling it a sign of desperation, while others are seeing it as reason for Wakefield Trinity fans to finally have a bit of hope again. Whatever you feel about David Fifita’s return to Belle Vue, it is certainly going to make them more watchable over the remainder of 2023.

This season so far has been shocking. In fact, that’s being kind. In 13 Betfred Super League matches they have recorded 13 defeats. They’ve scored only 83 points at an average of six per game and conceded 382 at a going rate of 29. At this rate, they’re going to end the campaign as the competition’s worst ever team, with easily the most horrendous attacking record of the summer era. It’s the kind of return that, replicated in the third tier, would see the end of a club entirely.

They’ve made steps to try to change their fortunes before now. The decision to trade the promising Corey Hall for Hull Kingston Rovers full-back Will Dagger was about gaining a short-term option in a problem position, while Luke Gale’s signing from Keighley Cougars gave them the kind of leadership they had been clearly lacking.

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But the decision to re-sign Fifita ahead of the Magic Weekend clash with Leigh Leopards in Newcastle on Sunday has arguably caught the imagination more than anything Trinity have tried so far this year.

The ‘Big Bopper’ was a fans’ favourite in West Yorkshire during his previous spell with the club. His mid-season switch from the Cronulla Sharks in 2016 didn’t entirely go to plan, with his arrival coinciding with a downturn in form which saw Trinity lose 12 of their last 14 matches in all competitions.

Yet one of those victories was a Fifita-inspired Challenge Cup quarter-final win at Huddersfield Giants in which the infectious front-rower scored two tries to take them to a first semi in eight years, and their poor run which followed owed much to the fact that they were the outside bet in the Super 8s after a shock qualification for the end-of-season shoot-out.

Two more visits to the Super 8s were still to come in 2017 and 2018, with Fifita’s brazen personality and fearless performances helping to bring the crowds flooding back down Doncaster Road. They finished fifth on both occasions, and became known for being one of the top flight’s toughest nuts to crack thanks in large part to the groundwork laid by players like Fifita.

FIFITA DEVELOPED A FEARSOME REPUTATION AT WAKEFIELD
FIFITA DEVELOPED A FEARSOME REPUTATION AT WAKEFIELD

As time moved on, though, Fifita’s body was unable to keep up with his reputation. Injuries played a part. The lack of quality around him didn’t help either. Out went coach Chris Chester in 2021, replaced by Willie Poching, and after a third successive 10th-place finish in 2022 it was Mark Applegarth who was given the reins for a stripped-back squad in ’23.

But by that time it had been agreed that Fifita would move on. The trip to Huddersfield on the final day of last season had looked to be his last in a Trin shirt, but it hasn’t taken him long to return for another fight for the Wakey cause.

“It goes without saying that this is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, leaving my family back in Australia,” he told reporters after arriving back in the UK following a stint with the Central Coast Division’s Entrance Tigers.

“At this time I want to concentrate on getting myself right and bringing a smile back to Wakefield fans. I’ll be giving everything for the challenge ahead, which is to try to help a club close to my heart to stay in the top tier.”

It will be an almighty task. Wakey have already lost convincingly on two occasions to Leigh this season, including once in the Challenge Cup. Their hope remains that neighbours Castleford Tigers can continue their own struggles for long enough that the four-point gap currently separating the two sides can become bridgeable.

But for that to be the case, Trinity need to start picking up points, and Fifita’s addition will add the kind of belief which has been absent throughout the campaign so far. It says a lot about the difference they think he can make that they will happily make a quota spot available for him by de-registering one of their current troops.

At 34, Fifita need to get himself up to speed pretty quickly, but if he can have even half the impact he had in his first spell in town there might just be a chance of a great escape being pulled off.

WAKEFIELD 14/1 TO WIN BY 1-5 POINTS - BETFRED*

*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject to Change

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