For any player, to put in a strong showing against your former club is special, and for former Hull Kingston Rovers player Ben Cockayne, he did just that – getting on the scoresheet 3 times in Wakefield’s 36-20 win against his former club Hull KR.
It was after a series of disciplinary breaches back in 2011 that led to Cockayne’s sacking from Hull KR, as Wakefield Wildcats coach Richard Agar had nothing but praise for Cockayne, admitting that Hull KR fans might be cursing him ever so slightly.
“Hull KR fans are appreciative of Ben Cockayne and I think it’s great that opposing fans respect players who have given their all for the club,” Agar said.
“That’s a great tribute to the Hull KR fans but I am sure they will be cursing him a bit tonight.”
After a disappointing opening round loss to Bradford, Agar believes it was the return of halfback Tim Smith and ‘Mr Consistency’ Andy Raleigh, that enabled the Wildcats to get the win.
“I thought they made a big difference to the team,” Agar said.
“Timmy is a player who, if you give him a bit of a platform, can come up with some good plays.
“It will do us good to get that win in front of our own fans. We showed we can be a really competitive team if we get certain elements of our game in order.
“We controlled the ruck really well and I thought it would tell late in the game.”
The Rovers loss was compounded by the loss of Lincoln Withers who was forced to go to hospital, after a head clash with Wakefield prop Justin Poore.
“He’s gone to hospital,” Rovers coach Craig Sandercock said.
“He’s in a pretty bad way and obviously my thoughts are with Lincoln and his family.
“He was knocked out cold and I’m led to believe he had quite a big head gash as well. That’s all we’ve got at this stage. I need to get a thorough report on him.”
At one stage, it was Hull KR with all the ascendancy as they cut Wakefield’s lead to just 4 points – but when Graeme Horne was sent to the sin-bin, Wakefield scored 18 points against the 12 men of Hull KR in that time.
“We got ourselves in a position to win that game,” he said.
“But we conceded a few penalties on the run and a couple of crucial decisions went against us.
“In the end Wakefield were too good and deserved to win. We need to make sure we are more disciplined. We are giving away too many penalties.
“If we get an ounce of luck and if we are more disciplined, we have a semblance of a good footy team.”