Daryl Powell has paid plenty of credit to Bradford Bulls after they pushed his Wakefield Trinity side all the way under the lights at Odsal.
Ultimately, Wakefield won 26-12, a scoreline that Powell even admitted may have shown it to be more comfortable than it was in reality, with his first comments post-match to Sky Sports being to remark just what a physical encounter it had been.
“It’s a tough game, eh,” Powell said, adding: “There’s all sorts going on there, and we ended up, for all sorts of different reasons, on our own try line massively at times and we just had to dig our way out of it.
“There were some unbelievable last-ditch efforts against a team that I felt really came after us tonight. I don’t think we were at our best but some of that was down to the way Bradford played.”
Powell conceded that the narrow Odsal pitch played a part though he took no credit away from the hosts, stating: “I just thought Bradford were great, really came after us.
“It’s about winning at times when you’re not quite at your best, and we did that tonight. I thought we dug our way out of it, and, at the end, ended up probably being a little bit more comfortable than the game was.”
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Wakefield Trinity boss calls for calm despite high standings
It was a win that moved Wakefield to second in Super League, something that historically has proven to be a massive leg-up in making it to the Grand Final.
When asked about that, Powell slowed that talk down, responding: “There’s still a fair way to go, isn’t there? I think we’ve just got to be a little bit more consistent.
“There’s plenty of time to go. We’re in a great position. Don’t get too ahead of yourselves, I think that’s important. Don’t feel like the job’s done. I think that’s key because we beat Hull KR last week, and it looked like we were just feeling a little bit too good about ourselves at times, but, I’m pleased with that.
“It was a big win for us in a real tough place to go and I think they’ve won five games here, so they’re going to knock a few teams off, and we’re pleased to come away with the two points tonight.”
He also explained that keeping his players grounded won’t be an issue despite the fact Trinity are in fairly untested waters for how high up the table they are.
Powell said: “I think it’d be quite easy to keep your feet on the ground because they’re just good guys, good fellas who want to do the right thing and they want to play well every week.
“I think the more you get deep into the season and you’re playing against teams who are coming after you. I think we’ve been the hunters most of the season and you’ve got to be careful when you are the hunted that there’s a lot of motivation coming against you and you’ve got to match up to that and make sure that you deal with it and you’re a little bit more consistent.”
He was also keen to point out just how long the season is, with eight rounds still to go, as he joked about how his side were written off after round one.
“We lost our first game of the season against Toulouse and everybody was sort of saying, they’re not going to do what they did last year. Jeez, it’s a long season.
“We’ve got a lot of belief in what we’ve got here and the boys are working hard and you’ve just got to stay tuned in because this is a tough old game and it’s a long, long season you’ve got to be super durable and I think we’ve shown that at the moment but plenty of water to go under the bridge.”
Wakefield keep their winning run going! ⏩ pic.twitter.com/rXRlCgLpjY
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) July 16, 2026
