Wakefield Trinity v Leigh Leopards: Mark Applegarth issues rallying call as he makes 2006 comparison

Trinity have been a top-flight club since 1999 but face arguably their toughest survival mission yet after scoring just 83 points in their winless start.

Wakefield are in a straight shootout with neighbours Castleford Tigers, who are four points better off at the halfway mark of the campaign.

Applegarth, who was part of the squad that avoided relegation and sent Castleford down in the 'Battle of Belle Vue' in 2006, believes Trinity have what it takes to pull off another escape act.

"It's a test of character for everybody," he said.

"You learn a lot about yourself in adversity. Going back to 2006, that was ultimately the making of a lot of those people.

"They stood up to the challenge and dealt with the pressure that was on them under pretty extreme circumstances.

"We've got to do exactly the same. I personally feel we've got it in us but the most important people in all of it are the people that go out into the arena. They've got to believe.

"I think we've got the troops to do it. There's a lot of leadership in this team. When we do get everyone out there, we can play some pretty high-level rugby."

Injuries have been a major problem for Trinity throughout the first half of the season, with Jai Whitbread, Kelepi Tanginoa and Lewis Murphy among the names on a lengthy casualty list.

It does not get any easier for Wakefield on Sunday against a Leigh Leopards side that are aiming for a hat-trick of wins over Applegarth's men in the space of seven weeks at Magic Weekend.

"Leigh are a very dangerous team," said Applegarth.

"For me, they're one of the best attacking teams in the league. They're very aggressive in defence to go with that.

"When we played them in the league previously, I thought we were real dominant in the first half in defence but just couldn't convert that pressure into points and Leigh scored a couple of tries late in the half.

"We just need to learn to deal with adversity a bit more. If we go behind on the scoreboard, we can't let 6-0 turn into 18-0 within 10 minutes.

"High-level rugby league is about handling that sort of pressure and making sure that you come out of the other end of it and turn the pressure on the other team."