Daryl Powell: Wakefield players become instant club legends with Grand Final win

Daryl Powell has told his Wakefield players that immortality awaits if they complete a stunning transformation from top-flight also-rans to Super League champions with victory over Warrington in Saturday’s Grand Final at Old Trafford.

The walls inside the gleaming new East Stand at the club’s DIY Kitchens Stadium are plastered with black-and-white portraits from the club’s glory days in the 1960s, and the names of players like the Fox brothers, Don and Neil, and star half-back Ken Rollin still roll off the tongue.

But last week’s stunning semi-final win over Wigan has lifted the club’s modern counterparts to within 80 minutes of erasing well over half a century of hurt, and the prospect of adding their own names to the history books is not something Powell is taking lightly.

“There were some unbelievable players back in the 1960s and it’s difficult to compare eras, but if we were to win on Saturday, everybody involved in the club becomes instant club legends, and that is the beautiful thing,” said Powell.

“For the group we’ve got together it is an unbelievable opportunity. I told them, if you are good enough to do that at the club you will be remembered forever, and that will be awesome.”

Powell, who played in the first Grand Final for Leeds in 1998 and subsequently coached Castleford all the way to Old Trafford in 2017, was tempted to Trinity in 2023 despite a recent relegation and real fears that the advent of the sport’s new IMG era could prohibit a swift return.

Backed by the club’s new millionaire owner and boyhood fan Matt Ellis, Powell embarked on a five-year plan to restore Trinity to the top echelons of the domestic game, and even Ellis concedes he is surprised that the revolution has arrived two years ahead of schedule.

“Saturday was the proudest moment for me, going to Wigan and seeing 5,000 of us packing out that end,” said Ellis. “I went to Wigan in 2023 when we had 50 fans there and we’d lost 12 games out of 12.

“Driving through Wakefield this week, people are beeping horns, they are carrying Trinity umbrellas and wearing Trinity tops. The club’s sold out of everything. Fans are coming back from Thailand, Vietnam and Canada.

“Some of the team from the 1960s are passing away now, and you still get 500 people at their funerals. You can see how much it meant and still means. We’ve missed a generation but the younger fans are getting the vibe back. We are on the verge of writing a new history.”

Powell’s team has been built around experienced former Grand finalists like Tom Johnstone and Mike McMeeken, but also bolstered by overseas players like Caius Faatili, Caleb Hamlin Uele and Jazz Tevaga, who arrived as relative unknowns but have helped for a thrilling and free-scoring spirit.

Powell, 61, who took up his first coaching role at Keighley in 1996 before he had hung up his boots, is determined not to compromise on his core principles as he chases the one major domestic honour that continues to elude him.

His attack-minded mentality shone through during Castleford’s stunning march to the 2017 League Leaders’ Shield, and may be one of the reasons why this final has caught the imagination, and will tempt a crowd in excess of 70,000 to Old Trafford for the first time since 2017.

“People call football the beautiful game but I’ve never seen it that way,” added Powell. “For me rugby league is the beautiful game. You’ve got to be brutal but you’ve got to be skilful as well, and I like the balance of both.

“I’ve learned a lot about the game itself and it’s different styles, and quite a lot about myself as well. I’m not the finished article but I’m getting there. I want to be proud to watch my team play, and I think that’s the biggest thing.”