“Dumb” – Wakefield Trinity boss Daryl Powell hits out after shock defeat

Wakefield Trinity were shockingly dumped out of the Betfred Challenge Cup by Featherstone Rovers a round before Super League clubs entered the competition.

A shock defeat for the West Yorkshire side against their local rivals saw their Challenge Cup hopes. Wakefield Trinity trailed 10-0 to their rivals but battled back to take the game to golden point with a penalty.

However, in Golden Point a Mason Lino error led to a break away try for Gareth Gale to send them through to the next round.

Wakefield Trinity boss speaks out on defeat

Speaking to the club’s official YouTube channel after the game, Wakefield Trinity boss Daryl Powell was not pleased.

Powell said that his side were poor as he referenced the slope that worked against them at times and a “dumb” error.

He said: “It was old school. Certainly the conditions were really difficult. Our first half was really poor and Featherstone really controlled territory on the slope. I just thought we never got in the game and they deserved that lead.

“We pegged them back in the second half and had a little bit more control but I never thought we were great. We made loads of errors and came up with a really dumb play at the end to give them the game really.

“Really disappointed in a number of areas and we know what the Championship is about now that’s for sure and there’s a few boys who will have got a whack on the chin and they will come back and be better because they have to be better.

“To be honest, we don’t know what team we’ve got. I was saying to the boys before, we’re trying to find out what team we are. We have signed a lot of new players.

“On the evidence before today I thought we had a pretty good team, I still think that but we have to manage situations better than we did today.”

What next for Wakefield?

Many were expecting Wakefield Trinity to storm through the Championship in 2024 and win the trophy at the end of it all. There were those who tipped them to win the 1895 Cup as well as have a long run in the Betfred Challenge Cup.

They were seen as a team likely to emulate Leigh Centurions, now the Leigh Leopards, and storm the Championship but now their star studded squad has their fair share of doubters.

It is important to remember that Leigh suffered a similar defeat early in that 2022 season. They also lost to Featherstone Rovers as well away in bad conditions and didn’t lose another league game after that.