Pure guesswork I know, but it feel’s like you’re putting a good coaching set up together - I’d be happy enough as a wakey fan considering the alternatives!

Was certainly the fittest I’ve seen Wakefield trinity but also Evans did a good job too.

Yes he did, the memory has faded but I seem to remember we were a real good second half team. No matter the score at half time we always felt we could win.

We were a good 2nd half team when Topliss was coach. Just brought on Billy Conway at half time. Halifax away being the classic example.

What I like about the appointments of both Applegarth and Ford is this.

Too many players go into coaching as a way of staying in the game and having something to do until they retire.They tend to trade on their reputation as a player but that doesn't make them a great coach. They do a bit in the lower leagues, then have a pop at SL if they are half successful.

Not a terrible thing, but for me it's not the way it should be in a pro sport, and I think those days are slowly disappearing. In all sports not just RL.

For people like Mash and Ford, coaching is their thing, it's their chosen career. They have little kudos as players as neither were what you'd call big names. Both recognised that and started on the the coaching ladder whilst still playing I believe.

They are career coaches, it's not an after thought with these two, it's what they want to be for the rest of their working lives. Seeing as neither made big money out of playing they need to work to have a future, and they need to be a success.

I just feel people like this go the extra yard, are that little bit more open minded and a touch more ruthless.

There is to be fair a long history of this, some of the best coaches from the past were similar in some ways, though it wasn't so much of a full time career then.

Peter Fox was the forgotten brother as a player, but a fantastic coach in his day. Kear, a limited player but possibly the first to be what you'd call a career coach.

Applegarth and Ford are the next evolution along with people like Peet at Wigan. I think these people are as much sports scientists as coaches. I suspect it's all preparation and organisation. I'm sure at HT Mash can get angry and will hand out the odd speech, but I doubt that's his primary response. If we play bad he'll probably be more annoyed with himself for missing something than the players. But he and his team will rectify it without fuss.

That's my hope, and I do feel good about what we have now, it just seems a big step up in professionalism.

Of course I could be wrong and we could implode, but let's be honest we needed to do something fairly radical, we couldn't carry on as we were.

Agree