It may seem quite obvious to suggest there is plenty Super League can learn from its newest champions but as Wakefield Trinity’s dreams came true after beating Warrington 23-10 at Old Trafford on Saturday evening, it was easy to ponder just how transformational a moment this is for not only them, but so many others, too. This fairytale has captured the national attention and punctured the mainstream unlike few other Super League stories in recent times. A second-tier club just two years ago, Wakefield are now champions of England and have a possible showdown with the NRL champions, Sydney Roosters, to contemplate early next year in the World Club Challenge.
A city which has languished in the rugby league pecking order for generations has now been awoken in vivid Technicolor, epitomised by the scenes in Wakefield on Sunday as tens of thousands of supporters lined the streets to welcome home their heroes. Trinity, champions of Super League: it is a statement that still defies belief. But there are lessons in here for everyone.
This is all happening at an intriguing time, with a Super League-NRL partnership set to be signed off in the coming weeks and potentially opening the door for more opportunity for growth for the English game, in a year when more than two million supporters attended matches for the first time. Wakefield’s rise from cellar-dwelling afterthought to champions of Super League is inspirational to so many, but it is how they have done it which warrants further attention. Firstly, the loyalty they have shown to their players.
The headlines have all been about owner Matt Ellis’s investment and how that has been the catalyst for this remarkable turnaround. That, of course, is true. But the fact that seven of the 17 who lifted the trophy at Old Trafford were playing for Wakefield in the Championship two years ago is proof loyalty matters, and some can tell this story with first-hand experience.
Max Jowitt has spent his entire career with Wakefield, and remembers the days where Trinity were training at amateur-standard facilities, playing in a crumbling Belle Vue, pre-Ellis, and fighting for survival on an annual basis. He still recalls sitting on the pitch at Leigh in 2023 in front of a couple of hundred supporters when Wakefield were relegated. On Sunday afternoon he was sitting down again: this time on an open-top bus that ran through the city centre with the Super League trophy for company.
To be part of the worst time in Wakefield’s history being relegated and then the best, winning the title, within three years is beyond my wildest dreams. What a ride.” A fine lesson in loyalty paying off. There is another lesson for clubs now chasing Wakefield too; sensible, logical recruitment.
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