Two years is a long time in professional sport but even by the wild standards of Super League, the turnaround at Wakefield Trinity these days is nothing short of sensational.
As Mason Lino kicked the winning drop goal here to move Trinity back into the playoff places, it was worth taking a step back and pondering that as recently as 2023, this place was in a grave state. This stadium, which was packed to the rafters here, was a building site and on the field Wakefield were sleepwalking towards relegation.
But in the end, the year they spent in the Championship in 2024 may prove to be the biggest blessing in disguise. It allowed the club to rebuild, overhaul their Belle Vue home and, with the backing of new owner Matt Ellis, emerge as a potential giant in the game again.
Not since 1968 have Wakefield been champions of England. That wait for a league title may not end this year but the fact it is a possibility, given the way things were here as recently as two years ago, is credit to Ellis, the club’s head coach, Daryl Powell, and this talented Trinity squad.
Here, in front of the biggest crowd this stadium has seen for more than a decade, Lino’s drop goal with the final kick of a pulsating contest proved to be the difference to see off Leeds Rhinos, who themselves could have moved level on points with second-placed Wigan had they emerged victorious.
They had their chances but in the end Trinity held their nerve when it mattered most to move back into the top six. With a favourable run-in to the end of the regular season, it is now possible that Wakefield could be in the playoffs later this year for the first time since 2012.
Sam Lisone scores Leeds’ first try to level up the scores in the first half of their Super League game with Wakefield. Photograph: Richard Sellers/PA
And if Wakefield do make the top six, a rerun of this West Yorkshire rivalry would be a fitting end-of-season showdown. The scores were level for most of the evening, with the two sides unable to be split at half-time as Sam Lisone’s try for Leeds cancelled out Lachlan Walmsley’s fine effort for Trinity.
That, coupled with two goals apiece from the boots of Max Jowitt and Jake Connor, made it 8-8 at the interval. And with defences firmly on top throughout, it felt as though the contest was destined to go down to the wire all evening long.
Leeds will probably look back on this, and the way the final stages unfolded, as a missed opportunity. “I’m extremely proud of their effort,” their coach, Brad Arthur, said. “Their fight was strong but when you put that much effort in you really should come away with something.”
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The Rhinos had to do a lot of defending early in the second half but did it superbly – so when they scored against the run of play in the final 10 minutes courtesy of Jarrod O’Connor’s try, you wondered if Arthur’s side were on course for a valuable win.
That made it 14-8 but Trinity levelled within two minutes, as Lino teed up Matty Storton to set up a grandstand finale. Leeds’ Brodie Croft came close to kicking the winning drop goal with a minute remaining, before Lino then went one better to spark rapturous scenes in this particular part of West Yorkshire.
On this evidence, do not rule out more celebrations like these come the business end of the season, too. So often an also-ran in Super League, Wakefield Trinity are genuine contenders for the first time in a long time.
