The Liam Farrell column: I wish I'd been out there to help

It's hard to face up to but we've had to accept last week's result and move on.
Wakefield Wildcats's Max Jowitt is tackled by Wigan Warriors' Dan Sarginson and Tony Clubb in the club's heaviest Super League defeat for a decadeWakefield Wildcats's Max Jowitt is tackled by Wigan Warriors' Dan Sarginson and Tony Clubb in the club's heaviest Super League defeat for a decade
Wakefield Wildcats's Max Jowitt is tackled by Wigan Warriors' Dan Sarginson and Tony Clubb in the club's heaviest Super League defeat for a decade

It’s one of those that we just can’t dwell on, because it’s really important we put the loss to Wakefield behind us as quickly as possible and start playing like we know we are capable of.

It’s a hard game to assess because we don’t want to sound like there are excuses - because there aren’t for the way we played - but there were factors which contributed which I’m sure a lot of people know about now.

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It’s no joke - we literally got together on Saturday morning and we only managed a few minutes on the field because of injuries and illness.

About 80 per cent of the squad ended up coming down with this virus and with the injuries as well it created a really bad situation - but we had to deal with it.

For me, the game was really hard to watch because when the lads are suffering you just want to go out there and help. It also made it worse for me that I was out because of a ban because it was my fault I wasn’t on the field - and when there’s nothing you can do you feel terrible.

You might not think you’d want to be out there on the field when the lads are losing but it’s the opposite - you want to be out there doing all you can to help out - and the rest of the lads feel the same.

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We have a great environment here and that’s another reason we know that game wasn’t us.

But I really don’t want to take anything away from Wakefield.

Yes, I’ve never known anything like the situation we’ve had here, but they were fantastic. In attack and defence I think it’s the best I’ve ever seen them and we’d have struggled with them if we’d have had a fully fit squad out there. So there are no excuses - the result was our own fault. And whether there are injuries or illness we have to cop it. The record books will show the score in black and white years down the line.

The good news is everyone seems to be gradually clearing up so we should be in much better shape this week.

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I want to be out there tomorrow but I’m nursing an injury so have had to sit out another one which is really frustrating. After getting banned and then the lads losing last week, like everyone else I just want to get out there so I can help put things right.

But Castleford know how to play and we’ll have to be right at our best to get a result. We know how to beat each other as results proved last year - but we’ve obviously not tested each other out yet this season and it will be interesting to see how different they are with their changes in personnel - including our own Ryan Hampshire who is on loan there.

Their halves play a great attacking game and Luke Gale is obviously one of the best players in the comp - so we’ll have a job keeping him quiet.

They’re a really good team and are very well coached so we’ll have to be on the ball - but we have got a few lads coming back so that should help us out.