'He's got everything it takes': James Batchelor backs former coach Mark Applegarth to succeed at Wakefield Trinity

The hardworking forward agreed to join the Robins last spring while Willie Poching was in charge of Wakefield.

Poching has since been sacked and replaced by the man who set Batchelor on the road to Super League.

Eyebrows were raised when Mark Applegarth was handed the reins at Belle Vue but Batchelor can vouch for the 38-year-old's ability to transform fortunes.

Batchelor was playing category C academy rugby for Wakefield College when Applegarth spotted his talent.

Applegarth, who combined his role at the college with his job in Wakefield's academy set-up at the time, convinced Trinity to sign the teenager and the rest is history.

The disappointment for Wakefield fans is that the pair never got the chance to work together at first-team level as head coach and pack leader.

When asked whether he expected Applegarth to be a success, Batchelor said without hesitation: "One hundred per cent yes.

"I've known him for a long time. He was my coach at college and the one who begged Wakefield to get me a trial with the academy and a deal.

"I owe a lot to him. You look at how he's transformed the youth structure there and the players they've started producing again. Some of them came through last year and I think there will be some more breaking through this year."

Applegarth can also count tryscoring sensation Lewis Murphy among his proteges, while Sam Eseh, Dane Windrow, Robbie Butterworth, Ellis Roberts, Joe Law and Oliver Pratt have all been named in Wakefield's top-30 squad.

As well as backing youth, the new Trinity boss will work tirelessly to improve the fortunes of his hometown club.

"He's got everything it takes," added Batchelor.

"His wife will probably be a bit annoyed he's got the job because it means he'll be around even less. He's someone who will sleep for three hours and come straight to the ground and then finish at 10pm.

"I really hope he gets the time and backing from those above him."

Applegarth took the mantle of Super League's youngest boss from Wigan Warriors' Matt Peet, a coach Batchelor worked with in the England Academy set-up.

While Applegarth is unlikely to win a Challenge Cup and finish second in Super League in his first season, Batchelor expects his former coach to have a similar impact relative to Wakefield's ambitions.

"I've worked with Matty before and there's a lot of similarities between them," said Batchelor.

"They know each other as well from some of the work they've done.

"A big thing was made when Jon Wilkin made his comments about not knowing who Mark Applegarth is but that was probably reasonably fair because not many people did.

"I'm pretty confident that in a year or two, everyone will know who he is and rate him pretty highly.

"He's someone that if you give him complete backing over a long period, he won't be a success for one or two years, you're looking at someone who can rebuild a club and get them back up the table more consistently."

Wakefield was all Batchelor had ever known before opting to up sticks and join Willie Peters' new project at Hull KR.

There was a sense of trepidation as he took his first steps into the unknown.

"It was a weird one," he said. "I was comfortable that I'd made the right decision but it was tough and emotional at times.

"I spent six years there and played nearly a hundred games. If someone had said to me as a 17-year-old when I didn't have an academy contract that I'd go on to play that many games for the team that I'd followed as a kid, I would have snapped their hand off.

"There were some brilliant times in there and I'd be lying if I said I didn't absolutely love it. I loved the club and still do.

"There's also frustration thinking about the couple of years when we finished fifth. I didn't just want to play for Wakefield; I wanted to win something and be part of the first team that brought a trophy back there.

"It wasn't to be and I wish them well for this year."

Batchelor left Wakefield for a fresh challenge and viewed Hull KR as the club to help him fulfil his ambitions.

Peters, together with chief executive Paul Lakin, convinced Batchelor that the Robins are on the cusp of winning silverware and has since turned those words into actions.

"It's the toughest pre-season I've done so far," said Batchelor.

"It's not just been flogging for the sake of it; it's been technical and there's a reason behind everything we've done.

"All the lads have said that compared to the last couple of years it's been night and day. It's the same for me – pre-season at Wakefield last year was the complete opposite.

"I feel like I've improved already. I feel a lot fitter. We're doing a lot of wrestle and contact, and I'm feeling a lot stronger in that sort of stuff.”

In football, Marcelo Bielsa enjoyed immediate success at Leeds United after raising the intensity of training through his famed 'murderball' sessions.

Batchelor is hopeful that Hull KR's pre-season efforts will translate into points when the Super League season gets under way.

"The sessions are big and intense," he said.

"We've been talking about how hard it was the first couple of weeks and how we struggled to recover. Now the sessions are still tough but we can recover a lot quicker and handle the work that's been thrown at us.

"The mantra around it is we're going to train hard and intense so when it gets tough in games that becomes the easy bit because we've been put in situations much harder and intense in training.

"I want to take my game to another level. I've come here to win trophies. That's something I'm desperate to do."