Daryl Powell gives ‘special’ Wakefield Trinity verdict and highlights costly turning point

Wakefield Trinity head coach has given his verdict on what the club can do in 2025 and picked out the costly turning point versus Hull KR.

For a second week running, Powell’s side saw the scoreline end 14-12 but they were on the wrong end of that score against Hull KR on Thursday night with Max Jowitt’s missed conversion late on proving costly.

It would be harsh to attribute any blame to Jowitt given the fact he nailed a brilliant kick earlier in the game and was generally the team’s creative spark, however, head coach Daryl Powell picked out the turning point in the game with Jowitt playing a pivotal role.

Speaking post-match to BBC Radio Leeds, Powell said: “I thought we were excellent. We’re a couple of troops down and we’ve had a bit of sickness as well but I thought it was a pretty big effort from us.

“We were fractions away from going to golden point and I’d have backed us there to be honest. I think we can be proud of the effort and I think we’ve got a genuine team.”

Explaining the turning point, he pinpointed Jowitt kicking out on the full as a trigger, stating: “Just after we scored, we made big yardage on the set but then we kicked out on the full, concede an offload and then Mikey Lewis scored and that was the turning point in the game.

“There was nothing in it and they will know they’ve been in a game.”

Daryl Powell gives ‘special’ Wakefield Trinity verdict

Hull KR head coach Willie Peters conceded that he was concerned near the back end of the game with Wakefield turning out big style in front of their home fans, with a whopping 8,065 watching Trinity play at home in Super League for the first time since 2023.

Having beaten Leeds Rhinos and pushed Hull KR all the way, Powell promised more to come with the head coach asserting that Trinity are a “genuine team”.

He explained: “The last two weeks have shown everyone that we’re not tip-toeing our way into this comp and there is a lot more to come from this team.

“Mike McMeeken just said in there that we should be disappointed but proud and I agree with that.

“I just think we’re a genuine team, Everyone was looking at the fact we have ten new signings and wondering what we are going to be and I think we’re a genuine team who can do special things.”

Powell added: “I don’t particularly see that as a loss if I’m honest, I see it as a special effort from everybody.

“If you look at the amount of players we have missing, which happens, I think there is just a lot to come from us.”

In positive news on the injury front, he revealed that three players could return for the game against St Helens next week, noting: “Liam Hood I think would be back and potentially Renouf (Atoni) and Matty Russell should be available.”