BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Close defeat to Hull KR in their first home game back in Super League couldn’t dampen the buoyant mood of the Wakefield Trinity faithful.
A sellout of over 8,000, the club’s biggest crowd in eons, was there to see their beloved Trin finally back in the big time. Belle Vue, the pimple on the arse of Super League no longer, was resplendent.
With its new stand, expanded terracing, impressive media facilities, fan zones, fancy bars and digital scoreboards and screens, not to mention pre-match brass band and pyro, Wakefield are now in the 21st century. Belle Vue was bouncing, the pitch looked magnificent and anticipation was in the air in WF1. And, perhaps most importantly, they now have a team to match their renovated stadium and the ambitions of their resourced owner.
Yes, ultimately it wasn’t their night on the field, with the visitors coming away with a tight and tense 14-12 win. Below their best against Castleford in round one, Hull KR lifted their game and just got the result they craved.
But Willie Peters’ charges were pushed hard by a committed, well-organised and dynamic Trinity side. Wakefield upset Leeds at Headingley last weekend and Daryl Powell has got his team believing and thriving. There is no give in the Dreadnoughts these days.
A fortunate crossbar-caused try to Tom Davies after six minutes was the only thing that separated each outfit after a tight first half. It was brutal and intense in the middle third, and tenacious tackling from the home team kept turning the Robins away.
If Oliver Pratt had offloaded to his winger Lachlan Walmsley on occasion, it might have even been tied at the break. But an Olly Russell penalty after the half-time siren made the margin slightly slimmer at four points.
Early in the second half Rhyse Martin’s boot made it 8-2, taking it back to a six-point deficit.
However, they didn’t last long as the ball was spread wide quickly and hometown hero Tom Johnstone did what he did best – acrobatically scoring in style in the corner. Air Johnstone strikes again. The crowd erupted and the scoreboard changed to 8-6.
Max Jowitt’s excellent sideline conversion tied it up and the crowd became even louder. Wakey were staying in the fight.
However, the stalemate lasted all of three minutes as Mikey Lewis barged over to put Hull KR ahead, injuring himself in the process.
With 20 minutes to go and 14-8 in front, the Robins just had to dig in and hold on. And they did just that.
A sin-binning to Michael McIllorum in the 76th minute made it just that little bit harder, and Wakey took advantage.
Pratt showed brilliant deception to get the ball down and cut it to 14-12 with less than three minutes left. Jowitt had the kick from the sideline to tie it up, again, but it hooked slightly wide. It was not to be.
No matter, Wakefield Trinity will live to fight another day. They might have lost their unbeaten start to Super League in 2025, but there was no disappointment in their performance on this Thursday and hope is indeed growing at Belle Vue.
As The Carpenters sang, we’ve only just begun.
