The corridors of Wakefield’s famous Belle Vue ground are lined with black and white photos of the halcyon days of the 1960s, when this grand old club were last a rugby league force. Days like these could not have seemed further away in 2023 when Daryl Powell was appointed by their new owner, Matt Ellis, with an initial remit to secure promotion back to Super League. But Ellis, the local kitchen magnate who has followed Wakefield all his life, had much loftier goals for the club he had just purchased.
He delivered Powell a clear message, something the Trinity coach recalled this week: “When I came, Matt said to me: ‘I want you to turn black and white into colour’.” There is only one colour on this club’s mind right now though: gold. This is one of the great sporting stories of recent times. Two years ago this weekend, Wakefield beat Doncaster 72-6 in front of just under 5,000 supporters in the Championship.
Next weekend, they will walk out in the Super League Grand Final for the first time. There are rapid rises, and then there is this particular story. The club have spent the majority of the Super League era and the decades before it languishing in the lower reaches and light years away from clubs like Wigan – who they dismantled here with one of the most complete playoff performances you are ever likely to find.
Now, one of rugby league’s true sleeping giants are alive, and within one win of a first league title since 1968. How they did it defies description. Few gave them a chance of beating a Wigan side seemingly on an unstoppable run to an historic treble; surely not even the most optimistic of Trinity fans would have suggested a victory of this margin.
The turning point was Wigan’s Adam Keighran being sent to the sin-bin early in the second half, during which time Wakefield scored 16 unanswered points. That turned a slender 8-6 half-time lead into a commanding 24-6 advantage. But even when Keighran returned, Wakefield were the superior team.
It never really looked like Wigan could launch any sort of comeback, meaning it is Trinity who now stand on the verge of history with Warrington – the club who sacked Powell in 2023 – standing in their way. This is a special group of boys and we have a great opportunity ahead of us next week.” This is a seismic moment for the game too; next week will be the first Grand Final not to feature any of Leeds, Wigan or St Helens. And the Warriors could have no complaints, in truth.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
