Wakefield Trinity boss gives play-offs verdict after “outstanding” win over fatigued Warrington Wolves

Daryl Powell has given his verdict on the play-off hopes of Wakefield Trinity after watching his side smash Warrington Wolves 40-10.

It was an easy afternoon for Wakefield who took advantage of a fatigued Warrington Wolves with Trinity being superior for around 75 minutes of the 80-minute affair. That five-minute blip came late in the first-half and saw Wire score twice with Connor Wrench getting on the scoresheet after a year out.

Wakefield had raced into an 18-0 lead and those ten points gave Warrington some hope heading into half-time but Trinity dashed them by scoring straight after the restart and from then on, it was very comfortable for Daryl Powell’s side.

Speaking post-match on Sky Sports, he assessed: “I thought we were excellent today. We had a sort of a two-minute period there where we just lost what we were doing a bit but overall I think it was a really outstanding performance from the team.

“There were a lot of really high-quality individual performances in there but overall just really pleased for the team. We’ve got a lot of players missing at the moment but no matter who we put on the field, they’re class are the boys.”

Daryl Powell gives play-offs verdict after “excellent” Wakefield Trinity ease to win

It looked set to be the Caius Faatili show once again after he scored two inside ten minutes but Mason Lino was heavily involved throughout and deservedly earned the Man of the Match medal and the veteran half came in for praise from his head coach.

Confirming the injury to Jake Trueman, who dropped out, Powell paid tribute to Lino for “holding us together”. The Trinity coach explained: “Our spine had changed a fair bit, obviously with Truey (Jake Trueman) being out. He came back last week and showed us how good he is and then he’s off for a little bit, hopefully not too long.

“Mason’s been sort of holding us together really in the spine and I thought he was unbelievable today with Max (Jowitt) and Josh (Rourke) at fullback. Hoody (Liam Hood) has been special as well but I think Mason in it all has been unbelievable for us, really held us together in our organisation and he was superb today.”

It was a win that propelled Wakefield into the top six and just two points shy of the top four and understandably, Powell was asked of his side’s play-off hopes which is something very few neutrals would have considered viable at the start of the season.

Powell admitted that his side are “a chance” but he made sure to pump the breaks as well, stating: “I think we just take each week as it comes. I think we’re playing really well, I think we’re defending well. We haven’t conceded too much today against a team that have got a few boys missing, so they’re not quite as dangerous as they might be. But we shut the better players down, I thought, and did a really good job.

“I think we’re a chance, but it’s about being consistent. We’re not going to get players back really until later in the season. We’ve got quite a few long-term injuries, but the way we’re playing, we’re going to challenge teams.

“We’re all enjoying it at the moment. The boys, the way they play, when they free themselves up, it’s really difficult to defend against.”

FULL TIME: Wakefield Trinity 40-10 Warrington Wolves

A huge win for Trinity at the DIY Kitchens Stadium!#UpTheTrin pic.twitter.com/pX8aZ8hKnC

— Wakefield Trinity (@WTrinityRL) May 18, 2025