Daryl Powell celebrates Wakefield’s title: ‘Our boys can’t believe it’

Daryl Powell is still struggling to take in Wakefield Trinity’s Super League Grand Final triumph. “Our boys can’t believe it,” the coach said, explaining that several members of his squad were in shock at the victory, two years after playing in England’s second tier.

“I’m just amazed really at the players and how good they’ve been,” he said. Powell also emphasised what the success meant collectively: the work built up over the last three years for the club, players and coaching staff was “phenomenal”, he said. He singled out the performances of the past two weeks, which he described as incredible, and the mutual confidence within the group. “The boys have got such confidence in each other, that if we all do our jobs then we can do anything we want. We’ve done that this year. It’s just immense,” he said.

The coach described the end of the season as remarkable and said he had been struck by how hard some players found it to believe what they had achieved. He also expressed pride in the club, its fans and its players, whom he said were a pleasure to coach and spend time with. In his view, this title is “the best” of his achievements. He recalled that after 2017 he had thought he might go through his career without winning a big game, before a difficult spell at Warrington and then this success with Wakefield.

Powell admitted that he had thought the team might be a year too early to reach this level, and had wondered whether the following season might be the one. The players proved him wrong. He described a close-knit group, bound by a great deal of affection, and said the story showed that special things can be achieved. “This club can do anything, really,” he concluded.