Hull v Wakefield: Hull boss Lee Radford believes Wakefield chief Chris Chester deserves more praise


LEE Radford believes former team-mate Chris Chester should get as many plaudits as the likes of Daryl Powell and Ian Watson.

Castleford and Salford have taken many of the plaudits from people this year but Wakefield sit fifth in Super League, even though they are under the radar.

Lee Radford was furious with Hull
Hull boss Lee Radford believes counterpart Chris Chester deserves more praise

That is despite a small budget and dilapidated ground that often sees them slammed by fans of other teams.

But Hull boss Radford thinks more should be made of the job Trinity chief Chester has done, as praise is heaped on Tigers boss Powell and Red Devils’ Watson.

He also knows they will not be as bad as they were in the 30-6 Challenge Cup loss at Salford last week.

He said: “I think their recruitment has been really good.

Chris Chester can seal the deal at Widnes
Chris Chester’s Wakefield side is defying many predictions by sitting fifth in Super League

“I know Daryl and Ian are getting a lot of plaudits but Chris probably isn’t quite getting the same.

“If you look at the job he’s done I can’t understand why. They’re playing a good brand of rugby and they’ve got a strong side.

“They were awful against Salford last week, but we’ve thrown those performances in and managed to respond so we’ve got to stop them from doing that.”

Radford himself has a Cup semi-final to prepare for after they knocked Castleford out last week but no-one is getting ahead of themselves.

Hull celebrate after winning the Challenge Cup at Wembley
Hull are in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup as they look to repeat last year’s success
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And do not be surprised to see second-rower Sika Manu stuck around full-back Jamie Shaul.

However, this is not some new tactic, it is just the Tonga man’s desire to break his try-scoring duck.

“I think I’m going to follow Jamie around for the next five weeks,” Manu said.

“I haven’t scored yet all season. Hopefully, I can get over soon!”


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