What Daryl Powell said after Wakefield Trinity move third in Super League with late win over Hull KR

Wakefield Trinity took it to the wire as they defeated Hull KR in a drama-filled game at Belle Vue with Daryl Powell’s side moving third in Super League.

Trinity, playing their first game since the passing of former player Geoff Oakes and former coach John Kear, looked the better side for long periods of the game but found themselves trailing until Mason Lino’s match-winning try, as Wakefield won 26-24.

Having scored to level, Lino then had to convert his own try to avoid going to golden point and thankfully for the Wakefield faithful, he iced the kick to bring a close on what Daryl Powell dubbed an ‘awful second half’, when speaking post-match to Sky Sports.

“I thought it was an awful second half from us, to be honest,” Powell admitted.

“I thought Hull KR dug in and they did a great job to be in it. I thought we should have been well ahead at half-time, but that’s not the way it goes in Rugby League, is it?”

Powell continued: “I thought we did really well to dig our way out of that, it didn’t look like it, I thought Hull KR were managing the game well, and then we just found a piece of quality at the back end and Mason kicks a goal.”

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Wakefield Trinity grind it out to beat edge Hull KR

On Lino and his game-winning conversion, Powell stated: “He’d be a bit nervous there, no doubt, but yeah, it’s a great win for us.

“It gets to the end there and we’re level, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re a good goal-kicker or not, you get a bit nervous on those, especially if you’ve missed a couple, so he’s done a great job there.”

As for the actual game, Powell explained that his side have plenty to learn given how close they came to defeat relative to how much they controlled the game.

“There are some lessons for us, I think,” he assessed, adding: “We dug our way out, I thought we did some crazy things at times and conceded a few strange tries, but that’s Rugby League, that’s the beauty of it.

“To find a way (to win) like that when it’s close, we struggled a little bit with that at times last year, so to do that today.

“I think Hull KR have done well today to come out of last week, and they’re really super competitive, we thought they would be, they’re the champion team, obviously. It was a big game today for us, and obviously really pleased that we got the win.”

As for what it meant to win on a day when the lives of two club legends were remembered and celebrated, Powell said: “I reckon they both have enjoyed it. They love Wakefield Trinity and to do that today in their honour, their spirit, was awesome for the whole club.”

What a game 👏@WTrinityRL win it at the end 😳#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/YDLlmiE0Ss

— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) June 6, 2026