Wakefield Trinity head coach Daryl Powell has summarised his side’s performance in the Super League semi-final win over Wigan Warriors as ‘superb’.
With the odds stacked against them, Wakefield didn’t just win beat Wigan but they dominated them as they won 33-6 to make it to a first-ever Super League Grand Final.
Powell had revealed earlier in the week that owner Matt Ellis had challenged him to replace the old black and white images of former league-winning teams with new colour photos, and Wakefield are now 80 minutes away from doing that.
Doing so meant a special performance was necessary given how strong Wigan have been this year and that’s what Wakefield produced, with Powell admitting to Sky Sports that he got the sense a few weeks ago that Trinity could upset the apple cart.
“I just said to Matt Peet there, I felt it [something special] when we came in and played Wigan a few weeks back,” he revealed.
“I felt like that sort of flipped us a little bit defensively. Shenny [assistant coach, Michael Shenton] was just mentioning it and our mentality was that we think we can come here and win.
“I thought we were superb today. I just think we completed 100 per cent second half, 94 in the first half and we had one error all game. That’s so tough to play against.”
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Wakefield Trinity boss excited for ‘great opportunity’
Paying credit to the defeated Warriors, who opened the scoring and led 6-0, Powell said: “They’re superb. They’ve had an unbelievable year, but I just thought we were unbelievable tonight ourselves.
“We were consistent with what we did. I thought we started a little bit shaky, but after that, once we got our teeth into the game, I thought we were superb.
“It’s a special group of boys. We’ve got a great opportunity ahead of us next week now.”
Not only was the victory special for Wakefield, the Trinity boss also explained how and why it can impact the sport positively, with a new Super League champion set to be crowned next week when they face Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford.
He argued: “I think it’s probably special for the game as well as it is for us. I think Wigan have been there and done it and seen it all. For us, this is new. A great opportunity for us.
“We won’t get too carried away with today, that’s for sure. We just dig our heels in next week. We know we need to play well. We’ve played them recently so we know what they’re about. They’re a high-quality team and we know we’ll need to be good next week.”
Coaching in his 426th Super League game, Powell admitted that he’s rarely seen a performance from one of his sides as perfect as that, stating: “That was a really clinical, tough performance with every part of the game.
“There were some games when I was coaching at Castleford that were immense games but to come to Wigan on a big stage like this and do what we’ve done today is a pretty special performance.”
Just one more special performance stands between Wakefield and a Super League Grand Final win, with Trinity set to face Warrington Wolves at 6:00 pm next Saturday night at Old Trafford.
THEY’VE DONE IT 😤
Trinity are heading to the Grand Final for the first time in their history ⚜️#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/2vBCbNb1tv
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) September 26, 2026
