Daryl Powell on magical Wakefield Trinity crowd and facing the “biggest bench of all time” against Catalans Dragons

Wakefield Trinity boss Daryl Powell said his side is confident right now, following their 44-6 victory over Catalans Dragons on Saturday.

That win takes Trinity into the top six, following Hull FC’s loss to St Helens, and the Black and Whites are Wakefield’s next opponents.

Reflecting on the win over the Dragons first, Powell was full of praise for not only his players but also the chairman and club, following their best home crowd since 2013.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Obviously, the work Matt (Ellis, the owner of Trinity) has done behind the scenes has been impeccable, with the stadium developing all the time.

“There was a bit of a ticket promotion today. Catalans, for obvious reasons, don’t bring a lot of fans, so what they’ve done with that to get the biggest crowd in a long time.

“Then, the performance in the first half in particular was outstanding. I thought it was a little bit loose and scrappy in the second half, which can happen when you’re so far in front. I thought defensively, we were really aggressive and dealt with their big boys well.

“They’re the biggest bench of all time, Catalans had today, I think! We blew the game out of the water in the first half, so it was an outstanding performance.”

Wakefield Trinity boss full of praise for starring fullback and looks ahead to Hull FC fixture

Trinity fullback Josh Rourke put in a player-of-the-match performance and his coach was full of praise for him stepping into the role.

He added: “He does things that nobody else can do in Super League, I don’t see anybody catching high balls like that. He’s done it a couple of times this year.

“For a fullback standing there waiting to catch a ball, if he’s coming, you’ve got to do something about it. It’s a rare skill that he’s got and he’s really growing as a player.

“He’s got different qualities to Max (Jowitt), and they’re both quality players.”

Next, Wakefield Trinity have a short turnaround to face Hull FC on Thursday night, and Powell is expecting a closer match than today as the two sides battle it out for a spot in the top six.

He finished: “They beat us in a tight game, so we know it will be really tough.

“I thought they were really nuggety and gritty today against St Helens, but for us, we just keep doing what we’re doing.

“The club’s vibrant and growing, the team’s going with that. We’re feeding off each other, the crowd off the players, and the players off the crowd. When you’ve got that, it’s a magical thing.”

FULL TIME: Wakefield Trinity 44-6 Catalans Dragons

Trinity move into the Betfred Super League Play-Off places after a dominant victory over Catalans!#UpTheTrin pic.twitter.com/aUv7QjWWbK

— Wakefield Trinity (@WTrinityRL) July 5, 2025