2022 Season Review: Wakefield Trinity

21 Dec 2022

When Wakefield headed to local rivals Castleford in late July, their 24-season stay in Betfred Super League was looking precarious to say the least.

Trinity were at the foot of the table, as rivals Toulouse strung together a winning run, and had suffered one-score defeats to the French club, Hull KR and St Helens in successive weeks.

Given that the Tigers had won no less than 17 consecutive derbies against Wakefield, the odds on kick-starting their 2022 season at the Jungle looked long to outsiders.

But two tries to rising winger Lewis Murphy helped Willie Poching's team secure a vital and comprehensive 32-6 win, which would both lift them back off the bottom and signal the start of a superb end to the season.

Trinity end the streak ?#SuperLeague #SLCasWak pic.twitter.com/qEbiAhWymf
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) July 29, 2022

"The implementation of the game plan was outstanding," Poching said after the final hooter.

"It's a pretty good night for us, but the fight is still on and there is a long road ahead. The challenge for us is to go and do that again."

Poching's men certainly did that, winning five games from six and eventually climbing above Warrington and into 10th place.

But little over a week after the season finished, the club made the decision to part company with the former Samoan international and his assistant Francis Cummins in what chairman John Minards described as a "difficult decision".

Prior to the late-season run of form, Trinity won just twice in 14 matches in all competitions, thrusting them into another relegation scrap that Super League's great survivors would eventually win.

After starting the campaign with four straight defeats, Trinity hinted at better fortunes with four consecutive wins, mirroring the kind of all-or-nothing form that has characterised recent seasons.

Two of those wins came away at the Wolves, including a stirring Challenge Cup victory, and Wakefield were briefly in the top six after edging past Salford 30-24 in early April.

We are running out of superlatives here. ?

Mason Lino has delivered the goods for @WTrinityRL ?#C4League | #SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/y5UYEyhrcs
— Channel 4 Sport (@C4Sport) March 19, 2022

That performance included two tries from England winger Tom Johnstone, but injury would restrict him to just 10 appearances all year, and allow for the emergence of Murphy alongside another talented young three-quarter in Corey Hall, who finished with more metres than any other Trinity player.

Others to stand out at different stages included gifted half-back duo Mason Lino and Jacob Miller, Australian forward Jai Whitbread and ever-consistent back rowers Matty Ashurst and James Batchelor.

But by the time the Castleford fixture came around in mid-summer, the whole squad and coach Poching were under increasing pressure.

Trinity's luck during this period was summed up by mid-season signing Jorge Taufua - who quickly became a fans' favourite - being ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with a serious arm injury.

"I believe in the players and the group," Poching said at the time. "Obviously we're going to have to make some alterations to what we're doing. But I?m up for the fight and for every battle.

"We have to roll our sleeves up and punch our way out of it, but I?m confident we can do that."

Poching's players came out fighting for him and the club. Even a narrow home defeat to Catalans Dragons couldn't affect their growing confidence, and their Super League status was secured with a gritty home win over Hull KR.

"A couple of weeks ago we put the situation in our own hands and I really like the way we've gone about things in the last month," Poching said.

"We showed some of the Wakey spirit. It's frustrating that we've not been able to show more of it throughout the year, but doing it on our terms and with two games to go is really pleasing."

Now a new coach will take on the challenge at the club, which includes replacing a number of high profile departures.

Among 10 exits in total are Miller, Johnstone, Batchelor, David Fifita and Tinirau Arona, leaving some major holes to fill.

David Fifita off the tee to secure the win for Trinity ??

On his final home @WTrinityRL appearance ?#SuperLeague #SLWakHKR pic.twitter.com/91FAtvZSx0
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) August 25, 2022

The issue that being involved in a relation battle brings with it, is an inability to recruit as early as rival clubs, putting Trinity behind the eight-ball again, a fact that chief executive Michael Carter highlighted in a late-season statement.

"We've seen it in every single year since the introduction of the middle eights and it means we are going to have to be very smart this off-season," Carter reflected.

But Wakefield have shown time and again that they are fully capable of defying both bookmakers' odds and pre-season predictions, and with a new main stand currently under construction and a highly-rated young British coach Mark Applegarth now in charge, the famous old club still has much to be positive about ahead of 2023.

Key man

Matty Ashurst might not write the headlines of other players, even some of those he plays alongside, but in terms of consistency, it's difficult to find many better in Super League.

The experienced back rower produced another outstanding season for Trinity, a near ever-present in the side who contributed eight tries to go alongside his non-stop work-rate. Only four players in the whole competition made more tackles than the 32-year-old and he remains an absolute pillar of the Wakefield team.

Rising star

Lewis Murphy emerged as one of the brightest young talents in the country during a stunning debut campaign that ended with a highlights reel any winger in the league would be proud of.

A relative late comer to the professional game but still a teenager when he made his debut against Leeds, Murphy finished with a remarkable 17 tries in 19 league appearance, a whole host of them stunning corner flag finishes that went viral on social media.

Lewis Murphy ?

First half hat-trick for the @WTrinityRL winger ??#SuperLeague #SLStHWak pic.twitter.com/WTpYInaCiB
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) August 29, 2022

Season highlight

St Helens might not have been at full strength, but a 34-18 win at the Totally Wicked Stadium in late August marked five wins from six for Trinity, the run that secured their Super League status.

Included in that sequence was wins over Castleford, Wigan and both Hull clubs, with the only defeat a narrow home loss to Catalans. That kind of form would see Wakefield in the top six over the course of a season, food for thought for 2023.