Soundings being made about wakey lad v a wakey lad, who is faster ? Who will come out on top ?
I have never seen Olpherts play ?

Even if Cas win handsomely tomorrow it won't mean olpherts is better. TJ at his pomp is international quality. Powell can probably get olpherts punching above his weight and that's commendable all round but it's a 1 horse race in a comparison of the 2.

Bang on reply mate !

No question about it TJ head and shoulders above our guy DO, Hope for a good game(Cas fan)

I might be wrong but I get the feeling Tom hasn’t played in all that many derbies due to injuries.

That said wingers only win these kind of games when the ball gets out to them. This is something Cas have always done far better in recent years.

It’s not TJ we need to ignite, we need Miller, Hampshire and the Woods to be on top form tonight.

I'll just be pleased if Eden is not out there. For all his faults he always seems to punish us with ball in hand.

Wiki says Olpherts is born in Wakey but what's his background pre Dewsbury signing? Surprised how old he is, 28.

Interview with him on the radio and he said that he was a Wakefield fan in his younger days.

If only the club had a quid for every time you hear this.

From Wakey Express online.... https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/spor ... am-1884904

From Wakey Express online.... https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/spor ... am-1884904

TJ is a classy player and one of only 3 or 4 in the league I genuinely think would make it in the NRL. Having watched Olpherts over the last few years though he is very underrated for me, and he will make a success of himself at Cas, he has gone under the radar but I think he will come very good - I could not quite understand some of the stick he got from some Cas fans when his signing was announced.

For TJ to make it in the NRL he needs to improve his all-round defensive game - it's why Bennett ignored him for England

That said, we all know our overall defensive weakness for leaving wingers isolated/having to come inside to follow their centre

Rubbish he never managed to make the place his AS YET due to injuries

A hat trick on debut but dropped by Bennett for the next match - got to be some reason why a hat trick didn't cement his place

Because the hat trick was scored in a 44-6 win over a very very poor side in France.

and the next game up was v. NZ who would test any defensive frailties

Played up at Sharlston as well.

This is just your opinion, you have no idea if Bennett thought that. It is quite incredible what some posters claim they know



TJ defence would almost certainly improve if he were in the NRL no doubt but it’s no barrier to him going, it’s nonsense to say it is in my opinion.

For reasons I’m not sure if people have picked on Toms defence for years, yet most people see little wrong with it. Is a matter of opinion but it seems desperate time.

One thing I’m certain of, you don’t have any idea what Bennett thinks, not sure he does.

TJ was never getting a game against NZ that year. It was Makinson and McGilvary all day long. Makinson had only just got in the team due to Ryan Hall being out injured IIRC

Fishermanscap I guess you didn't see/hear the interview with TJ between these two internationals? TJ acknowledged that Bennett had a chat with him, explained the reasons why he wasn't picked and highlighted the areas he needed to improve upon to be a more regular international player. The strengths of Makinson (defence) over Johnstone (speed) were highlighted.

Players like Johnson are ten a penny in the,NRL.
This will be apparent when Feki a NRL reject for cas,will hold his own against your wonderboy.

Bore off, if you’re going to comment about our players, at least get their names right for a start, it’s Johnstone. Johnstone is a class finisher but his defence reading is clearly lacking. Either way, Cas or Wakey won’t be anywhere near the top 5 so even if Feki scores 30 tries it means squat

Olpherts is a Lupset lad and a die hard Wakefield Trinity fan all his life. I would imagine his feelings are a mixture of elation and regret to night.

I don't think there's much regret mate, same with adz Milner, big wakey fan as a kid. Think stuff changes a bit when it's your career

Bloody hell youre touchy! TJ is a decent prospect for SL, but the person you’re being so critical of had a point.
His pace is second to none, in my opinion, but he really needs two excellent defenders on his inside as he gets caught ball watching far too often & far too easily to be at top drawer player at this moment in time. If he works on this, & I genuinely hope he does, then he will get a better gig. If not, then wakey get to enjoy him & no real loss to you as fans.

Like I said he’s a class finisher but his defensive reads at times are poor. He’s a very good Superleague winger who has had to come back from 2 ACL repairs. Remember speaking to a lad who is an ACL surgeon and I was intrigued to see what was worse, snapping your ACL again or doing the other one and he said it’s roughly a 90% chance if you snap your ACL that you will return to sport. Do the same one again and it drops to 80/70%. The lads had a nightmare 3 years and think he has done exceptional to be back where he is. Touchy!!! Wouldn’t you be watching that second half