Fit-again Tom Johnstone gives Wakefield Trinity huge boost

Arguably the most exciting finisher in the competition, Johnstone suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in May, 2017 and was dealt a similar blow last March. He has played two comeback games in pre-season, against Friday's round one hosts Hull KR and then Huddersfield Giants and insists he feels “really good” as he gets ready to go again. “The first game back was a bit ambitious and my knee was a bit sore during and after the game, but I was a bit more confident in the Huddersfield game,” Johnstone said. “I felt a lot better with carries and after the game I had no pain in my knee so I was really happy with how it went. “I am feeling really good physically, my legs are feeling good, my upper body is feeling good and I am raring to go.” The lessons of his first injury were learned the second time, Johnstone added. “I have been a bit more professional with how I look after myself,” he said. “I have been a bit smarter with my recovery and when to and when to not do certain things. “When the lads are having a mess about at the end of training, I know my body a lot more now and I’ll take a step back and watch them and relax a little bit, rather than trying to be involved in everything. “Sometimes that adds up and I end up a bit too sore and it will catch up with me. I have been a lot better with my own prep’ and recovery and hopefully it does me well. “I have learned how to cope with it mentally and physically. I knew what to expect and how to make myself more prepared. “There’s good days and bad days even now. I have been given the all-clear from the specialist and the physio’, but it took a good year last year to bring it back to 100 per cent so I am just taking my time and I am not going to get too stressed about it.” If Johnstone is running in the tries, Wakefield are likely to have a good season. “We are very confident within the group about what we can produce this year,” he said. “We had a good squad last year and we’ve brought in more experience with Jay Pitts, Joe Westerman and people like that. “They are good leaders and we’ve gone with a bigger, more experienced squad so if we lose a starting player we have got someone just as capable who can step in. “We struggled with that last year, but we are really confident about what we can produce and we can’t wait to get started.” Johnstone scored a hat-trick when Trinity opened their 2018 campaign with a win at Hull KR. “He recalled: “I had Jacob [Miller] behind me and he put me away for three tries. “It would be good if we can replicate that and go there again and get the season off like we did that time.” Recruits Joe Westerman, Jay Pitts, Josh Wood and Romain Navarrete have been named in Trinity’s initial 21-man squad. Fellow new signing Alex Walker is on the casualty list, alongside Ben Jones-Bishop, Dave Fifita, Tinirau Arona, Chris Green and George King. Hull KR: from Quinlan, Crooks, Kenny-Dowall, Linnett, Minikin, Abdull, Mulhern, Livett, Garbutt, Lawler, Murray, Trout, Litten, Dagger, Lewis, Gee, Maher, Minchella, Storton, Ellis, Brierley. Wakefield Trinity: from Johnstone, Tupou, Lyne, Miller, Brough, K Wood, Ashurst, Kirmond, Westerman, Pitts, Kopczak, Batchelor, Tangata, Jowitt, J Wood, Gwaze, Kershaw, Atkins, Hampshire, Navarrete, Tanginoa. Referee: Robert Hicks (Oldham). Kick-off: Friday, 7.45pm.