Wakefield boss Mark Applegarth keen to keep hold of loanee

Wakefield coach Mark Applegarth says he is hopeful of extending the loan of half-back Rowan Milnes from Hull KR.

Milnes made his debut for Wakefield in their 22-6 defeat at Wigan on Sunday after arriving at Trinity on a short-term loan deal from fellow Super League club Hull KR earlier this week.

Speaking after the game, Applegarth said: “I thought when we did get in to some good ball it showed that him and Mason (Lino) can be a good combo.

“It wasn’t really the day to see that because I don’t think we had that much good ball, especially in that first half, but we thank Hull KR for letting us have him.

“Depending on how they are looking, we can keep that on a week by week. That is going to be down to Hull KR and Willie (Peters).

“I think he is a quality player with a good kicking game. When we do get our fair share of field position I think he’ll add some much needed quality there, for sure.

“We’ll have a chat with Hull KR. They rate Rowan very highly and you can see why so it is going to be mainly on them and how they pull up with their injuries.

“We’ve got Lee Gaskell who is not far off coming back. He is still feeling a few effects from that pectoral so we should be getting some bodies back in them positions over this next period, for sure.”

Mark Applegarth provides Wakefield recruitment update

The Trinity boss says they are scouring the market to see if they can bring in any more players as they look to avoid relegation from Super League.

He added: “We’ve been scouting around. I wish it was just as easy as saying ‘we want him’ and then in they come.

“There’s a lot of different things that have to happen to get a player in.

“We’ve identified numerous targets, it is making sure everything aligns not just for us but for the player and if it is from another club, it is them allowing us to get that player.

“I’d say there are four or five players who we thought we could get over the line but at the last minute clubs have pulled out either to their circumstances or someone else coming in saying ‘we’ll pay you more money’.

“There’s a lot of different things that happen so it is frustrating but it’s what happens in professional sport behind the scenes.”

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