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It wasn’t a good weekend for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. An 80-0 defeat at Warrington Wolves on Saturday afternoon came on the back of their Under-19s Academy team losing 74-0 at home against Hull FC on Friday night.
Wakefield have now lost eight successive Super League games after winning their opening two fixtures at Castleford Tigers and at home to Hull Kingston Rovers, and they have a paper thin squad that is crippled with injuries.
I have a huge amount of respect for their coach James Webster. He made his name as a player in the British game at my club, Hull Kingston Rovers, after he was brought over by our former coach Harvey Howard in 2005 from Parramatta Eels.
Webster actually took over as player-coach at Craven Park for nine games in 2005, acting as the bridge between the sacked Howard and the newly appointed Justin Morgan. We won all of those nine games, which included the National Rail Trophy victory over Super League bound Castleford Tigers and convinced Rovers fans that the club was on the up once again.
Webster was an excellent and hugely respected player for Rovers and he was one of the guiding lights in putting us back in the big time. He led us to victory in the 2006 National League grand final and into Super League in our first full season under Morgan and he also won the National League’s player of the year award.
As well as being a quality player he was an outstanding ambassador for the club and played a major part in consolidating our position in Super League as we avoided relegation in 2007.
However, there was always a nagging doubt in my mind that Webster would struggle long term in Super League as the players got bigger and faster. He had the skills and the brain to match it with the best but didn’t quite have the physical attributes needed to be a major success at the higher level.
Webster is a man of slight build but he had a winning attitude and mentality that rubbed off on the rest of the Rovers squad and his bravery and commitment compensated for his lack of size to a certain degree.
His time at Rovers ended due to a bad shoulder injury suffered against Leeds Rhinos early in 2008, and meant that the club had to go out looking for a new scrum half and Webster’s contract was paid off.
It was a sad end for a great servant who came to the club at a difficult time in our history and brought us back in to the top league after 12 years. Rovers signed Michael Dobson from Canberra Raiders and the rest is history. Dobson had the physical attributes that Webbo didn’t and was an instant hit at Craven Park and had five great years at the club.
Webster moved into coaching at Hull FC under Richard Agar, after a spell on the playing staff at the KC Stadium and back in the National Leagues at Widnes Vikings, and followed him to Wakefield before taking up the hot seat when Agar left the West Yorkshire outfit last year.
He had an immediate impact on the Wildcats and led them to wins over Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves in the second half of the year. Although they didn’t make the playoffs they improved a lot under his guidance and continued that form early this season before the injuries struck.
The recent competitive performance at Leeds Rhinos on Easter Monday was destroyed by the result at the Wolves last weekend and this week they go into a tricky Challenge Cup fifth round tie at home to Championship club Halifax – that is a game Webster really cannot afford to lose.
Wildcats chairman Michael Carter has come out this week and backed him but the fans are starting to grow restless and a loss to Halifax could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Webster did not help himself by saying this week that he was already concentrating on getting his squad fully fit for the Super 8’s split after 23 rounds and that his goal is simply to keep the Wildcats in Super League.
While that is undoubtedly the honest and realistic point of view, it would probably have been best to keep it in house. It’s another thing entirely to come out and say it in public – it will hardly entice fans through the gates for subsequent games if they know they mean nothing to the club. I am sure the season ticket holders and sponsors were not too enamoured with his public comments either.
I hope that Carter is true to his word and keeps his faith in Webster as I believe he is one of the outstanding young coaches in the British game today and, if he is given the time he needs and he gets all of his players back fully fit, the Wildcats will become competitive once again.
This Super League season has been one of the most competitive in its 20-year history and it would be a shame if one of the clubs is seen as an easy beat and guaranteed two points as London were last year.
Heavy defeats like the Wildcats suffered at the weekend and long losing streaks undermine what is a great competition in 2015, but I don’t think any other coach would be doing a much better job.
The Wildcats need to stay strong and keep the faith in Webster.
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