Wakefield Trinity boss Daryl Powell says his team are 'learning on the hoof' after dropping down to Championship

The learning is going well with Trinity top of the Championship table still unbeaten after their first six matches, but it is a challenge for the Belle Vue club going up against teams they have not played for many years.

"With the ball there are areas we want to improve and we are talking in the changing rooms about how we are dealing with teams who defend real well and are aggressive,” said Wakefield boss Powell.

"You’ve just got to find a better way of dealing with those situations.

"I think we are also learning about the teams we are playing against. Every week it’s a little bit different, teams that we haven’t played before.

"Quite a few of our players have been playing in Super League or in Australia so we are just learning on the hoof a little bit about teams and individuals.

"It’s a competitive league and we are battling hard and finding ways to win really tough games at the moment.”

Trinity were tested by Toulouse in their latest game with the scores level after an hour until Powell’s men finished strongly to run out 28-12 winners.

"It was a tough game, Toulouse made it pretty difficult for us,” explained Powell.

"I felt we never really executed that well in the first half, but defensively we belted them and were awesome, particularly when they were coming off their own line.

"Second half we let them back in the game and looked uncomfortable. But I thought we were great in certain areas.

"We went a little bit more direct. We were more aggressive round our middle unit players and back rowers and they caused Toulouse a lot of trouble.

"I thought Ky Rodwell was pretty special and he went really close and Renouf scores from a Liam Hood pass. It was that sort of direct approach and Griff scores in the back row.

"If your middle men and your back row men are scoring you’re being really direct and you’re getting what you need a little bit further infield. I felt when we did that it changed the game a little bit.”

Trinity, meanwhile, have ended their dual registration agreement with Wigan Warriors.

Due to the level of recruitment made the club have been unable to give Wigan players the game time that had been previously discussed when the arrangement was originally signed for this season.

Powell said: “I would like to thank Wigan for their communication during the early part of the season as we worked hard to build our relationship.

"As we managed to grow our squad it became obvious that it would be tough to do the relationship justice.

"I spoke to Matty Peat last week we and agreed to move forward without the dual reg agreement. We will maintain a strong relationship and we wish Wigan all the best through 2024.”