Wakefield coach John Kear believes his side's dramatic 26-18 win over Hull KR was a fitting tribute to the late David Topliss.
"Spirit and character of the club" shown in comeback win
Wakefield coach John Kear believes his side's dramatic 26-18 win over Hull KR was a fitting tribute to the late David Topliss.
The former Great Britain captain, who also both played for and coached Wakefield, passed away on Monday aged 58.
And, on a wet night at Craven Park, his former side came from 18-4 down with 11 minutes left to win 26-18 and move up to fourth in the engage Super League.
"We spoke about that before and it has been tough," admitted Kear.
"On Monday everybody was bouncing and there were queues for semi-final tickets. There was a great buzz and then that just knocked the wind out of our sails.
"David is a guy that everybody knew. He wasn't a past player that none of the players knew, he was a guy that everybody knew and we were all very fond of him.
"I'm delighted with the response, because that reflects the spirit and character of the club and obviously David Topliss is an integral part of that."
Two tries from Man Of The Match Brad Drew were a key factor in their late revival with Kear quick to praise his leadership.
"The win typifies the group and the never say die attitude," he said. "Put that with a bit of skill and you come up with a very special last 15 minutes or so but it was very tough until then.
"Hull KR played the first half very well and we couldn't get out of our own quarter.
"Come the third quarter of the match I thought it had taken the petrol out of our tank but the reintroduction of Brad Drew sparked everyone up again, he was fantastic for that last 15 minutes.
"You need leaders to be inspirational and Brad was tonight and once he did, the rest followed. That's what you have quality and experienced players for."
'Awful taste' for Morgan
Meanwhile, after seeing his side slump to a fourth straight defeat, Hull KR coach Justin Morgan compared them to "rocks and diamonds".
The Robins had appeared to be on course for victory as, with Ben Cockayne to the fore, they opened up a 14-point lead. But, despite tries from Clint Newton, Mick Vella and Peter Fox, the Wildcats bounced back in stunning fashion.
"It leaves an awful taste in your mouth," said Morgan. "We should have easily put that away, but silly penalties and dumb play cost that at the end. The losing is concerning.
"We've been down on confidence a bit in the last month as we have had some tough encounters. The Saints cup game took a lot out of us, we got beat convincingly the week after and then at Warrington.
"Our ego and confidence have taken a bit of a battering, but with or without confidence we should have put that game away at 18-4.
"We're rocks or diamonds at the moment, we're having no average time, we're either brilliant or very poor."
Morgan also confirmed that full-back Shaun Briscoe suffered a groin injury that should rule him out of the running to be selected in Tony Smith's England squad when it is announced on Monday.
