Tom Johnstone reiterates England ambition as he explains Wakefield Trinity return

Tom Johnstone insists the opportunity to return to Wakefield Trinity two years after initially leaving the club was too good to turn down. Johnstone spent the first eight seasons of his career with Wakefield, emerging through the club’s academy to make his Super League debut in 2015.

After making 116 appearances for the Trin and scoring 87 tries along the way, the winger made the decision to leave Belle Vue and sign for Catalans Dragons on a two-year deal. It was a move that saw him appear in a Grand Final and become a regular on the international scene, with four caps coming during his time in the south of France.

However, Wakefield made a big push to bring the winger back to the club and after spending just two years in Perpignan with the Dragons, the 29-year-old will be pulling on the blue of Wakefield once more next season, having penned a four-year deal.

It was a bold call given Wakefield spent last season in the Championship, but the winger insists the ambition and potential the club have stepping back up into Super League made his decision to return a simple one.

Speaking in a video posted on the Wakefield Trinity official channels, he said: “When they got in touch last year, they expressed a keen interest and when I left the club I wasn’t sure whether I would ever come back. I didn’t leave on bad terms it’s just I thought my time here was finished.

“For them to be so excited to get me back in and what they told me, everything they said, it was too good an opportunity for me to turn down. I’ve been around, I came to the final against Toulouse and the love and support I got from everyone welcoming me back, for me, it’s a special place and somewhere I’ve always loved.

“It’s exciting because it’s new for me, it’s like coming into a new club. The facilities, the fanbase has grown, and also the team, the players – I think there might only be four or five players that are still here from when I was here. It’s exciting to get in and meet a new group of boys and get working.”

Johnstone insists he has matured as a player and a man while away from Belle Vue, but he still sees returning as an opportunity to improve and potentially even catch the eye of Shaun Wane once more.

“For me [leaving] was about trying to get game time and to play,” he added. “That’s something I achieved when I was away but it was also due to me learning a lot about myself, how to look after myself and growing up a little bit.

“It was a successful two years but I can’t just live on that, I want to improve and get better and with the players we have around me in this team, it’s definitely possible.

“I always want to play for England, that’s a huge one for me and I’m pretty upset to have missed the Samoa Tests. For me, it’s just to play as good as I can for Wakefield so I can be selected again to play next year.”