Wakefield’s wondrous Super League fairytale a victory for loyalty and logic | Aaron Bower

It may seem quite obvious to suggest there is plenty Super League can learn from its newest champions but as Wakefield Trinity’s dreams came true after beating Warrington 23-10 at Old Trafford on Saturday evening, it was easy to ponder just how transformational a moment this is for not only them, but so many others, too.

This fairytale has captured the national attention and punctured the mainstream unlike few other Super League stories in recent times. A second-tier club just two years ago, Wakefield are now champions of England and have a possible showdown with the NRL champions, Sydney Roosters, to contemplate early next year in the World Club Challenge.

A city which has languished in the rugby league pecking order for generations has now been awoken in vivid Technicolor, epitomised by the scenes in Wakefield on Sunday as tens of thousands of supporters lined the streets to welcome home their heroes. Trinity, champions of Super League: it is a statement that still defies belief.

But there are lessons in here for everyone. This is all happening at an intriguing time, with a Super League-NRL partnership set to be signed off in the coming weeks and potentially opening the door for more opportunity for growth for the English game, in a year when over two million supporters attended matches for the first time.

Wakefield’s rise from cellar-dwelling afterthought to champions of Super League is inspirational to so many, but it is how they have done it which warrants further attention. Firstly, the loyalty they have shown to their players. The headlines have all been about owner Matt Ellis’s investment – more on that later – and how that has been the catalyst for this remarkable turnaround.

That, of course, is true. But the fact that seven of the 17 who lifted the trophy at Old Trafford were playing for Wakefield in the Championship two years ago is proof loyalty matters, and some can tell this story with first-hand experience.

Max Jowitt has spent his entire career with Wakefield, and remembers the days where Trinity were training at amateur-standard facilities, playing in a crumbling Belle Vue, pre-Ellis, and fighting for survival on an annual basis. He still recalls sitting on the pitch at Leigh in 2023 in front of a couple of hundred of supporters when Wakefield were relegated.

On Sunday afternoon he was sitting down again: this time on an open-top bus that ran through the city centre with the Super League trophy for company. “I’ve seen it at its lowest low and now its highest high,” the full-back, who will end a career-long association with the club to join York in 2027, says.

“It’s an unbelievable story for the game. To be be part of the worst time in Wakefield’s history being relegated and then the best, winning the title, within three years is beyond my wildest dreams. What a ride.” A fine lesson in loyalty paying off.

There is another lesson for clubs now chasing Wakefield too; sensible, logical recruitment. Trinity’s rise to the top has been underpinned by a “moneyball” strategy of plucking players from Australia’s lower grades and making them stars. The likes of Caleb Hamlin-Uele and Caius Faatili, now Wakefield legends, moved to England on a pittance: less than the average man on the street.

They just wanted an opportunity to shine, and Hamlin-Uele would have been in England’s World Cup squad on Monday had he not opted to correct a knee issue. While others have splurged big money on big names, Wakefield have been meticulous. “It’s unbelievable, I can’t put into words what a dream come true this is. I owe Wakefield everything,” Hamlin-Uele said.

Then, of course, there is Ellis. Ridiculed in 2023 when he said Wakefield would win a trophy within five years just as they were heading for the Championship and he had purchased a club on its knees on and off the pitch, his only inaccuracy was that it took just three, not five. This third and final lesson from this story is one which stretches beyond Wakefield Trinity, though.

Ellis estimates it has cost him £10m to make this dream, one he harboured since he stood on the Belle Vue terraces as a boy, come true. That includes renovating the stadium and putting together the squad that has just won the league title for the first time since 1968.

With NRL investment coming over the hill, you wonder if there are others considering purchasing Super League clubs who feel they could make a similar vision a reality. In comparison to the money spent in other sports, £10m is small change to reach the very pinnacle; Ellis and Wakefield have shown dreams can become a reality if you go about it the right way.

Wakefield Trinity made their supporters believe again for the first time in generations. If they can do it, why can’t everyone else?