Tom Johnstone thrilled to be back in the heat of Wakefield’s derby day battle
TOM JOHNSTONE is back in the heat of a derby day, something he badly missed in France.
Now all the winger wants to do is defeat Castleford, something he has never done in a Trinity shirt.
England ace Johnstone wants to push his Ashes credentials after rejoining his first club following a stint at Catalans Dragons.
Finally getting a win over the Tigers at the 11th time of asking will be a great way of doing it as the thrill of tonight’s occasion has returned.
“At Catalans, we had rivals – they really like to go after St Helens – but you don’t get the feeling of a derby,” said Johnstone.
“There’s not that excitement of wanting to get over a friend or someone you work with because the teams are that close.
“I never played Toulouse at Catalans. The nearest would’ve been London – we still had to get on a flight and it didn’t have that same intensity.
“So it’s good to be back. I missed that derby day feeling but it’s not brought the best out of us. I’ve never beaten Castleford in a Wakefield shirt!
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“The worst one was at Magic Weekend in 2016. I think Denny Solomona scored four tires and that hurt – but I don’t sit on it!”
Wakefield have been boosted by the news Max Jowitt will play after injury, with boss Daryl Powell revealing he may be at full-back, half-back, or both.
And the Castleford-raised coach believes his side can cope with disruption caused by other injuries – he is also ready for any hometown stick.
Powell said: “I did previously when I was at Warrington. I got a fair bit of stick but I don’t worry about that too much
“We’ve got a strong squad and we’re handling it pretty well. We’re doing all right, we’re in a good place – with a bit more luck, we’d be in an even better one.”