Key events
49 mins. Irwin is growing into this game and belying his 18 years with confidence and composure in the build up to the try, then a rollicking run from the restart. He’s not frightened to have a run, the lad.
The ball moves left to Hopoate who looks to be free before the ref calls it back. The final pass was forward.
TRY! Warrington 6 – 19 Wakefield (Arron Lindop)
46 mins. Trueman bites out of the defensive line and this allowed Irwin to work the ball around and past him. It makes it’s way to Lindop who throws a dummy thenn rockets through a gap to dive over.
Irwin converts.
They couldn’t, could they?
45 mins. Danny Walker straightens up close to the line and it invites another high tackle from Trinity. Another set of tackles coming for Warrington close to the Wakefield goal-line.
44 mins. Williams senses this could be the moment to be seized if his side have any chance in this match. They drive up to the line and the stand-off tickles a rgrubber in-goal but Trinity manage to scramble it dead.
From the drop-out Irwin grips the ball, and back the Wire will come.
YELLOW CARD! Corey Hall (Wakefield)
42 mins. A set each for the two teams with Warrington’s latest coming to an end due to Corey Hall swinging a bicep into the head of Arron Lindop. It had some force to it, but Ref Moore thought there was a bit of mitigation and so it’s only a sin-bin and not something worse for Trinity.
Second Half!
Warrington receive possession to begin pushing this giant boulder of an ask in this half uphill.
Daryl Powell will be a very satisfied man as he leads his team from the field. All the basics, done better and a 19 point lead. A dominant forward pack, a kick-chase game pinning the opposition back, a low error count and no shortage of confidence with the ball in the backs has delivered and entire deserved position. Most impressive is the mentality, they look entire consummate in an occasion that could easily have overwhelmed them.
Warrington have had to play everything from within 10 metres of their own line in the main, and they already look tired which is not a great sign.
Half Time!
40 mins. The hooter sounds to end an utterly dominant half from Trinity.
DROP GOAL! Warrington 0 -19 Wakefield (Jack Sinfield)
38 mins. Sinfield calls for the ball on the fourth tackle and dinks a drop over to make this a four score game for Warrington to come back into. Dad Sir Kev attempts to smile through the cramp in the crowd.
Sam Burgess better be making some cracking bullet points in his notepad for half time as this is slowly becoming a nightmare for his side.
TRY! Warrington 0 – 18 Wakefield (Jazz Tevana)
35 mins. That error presented Trinity with possession in the Wire 20m area, and that was all the invitation they needed to set the big lads running hard with the ball, ending with Tevana forcing over from a metre out.
Jowitt converts to turn the screw just before half time.
33 mins. Philbin loses his footing at the play of the ball, the result of which is a penalty to Trinity for not playing the ball correctly. Wire doing themselves no favours, and this is compounded when they shovel poor possession repeatedly to an inevitable knock-on from Ashton.
31 mins. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Warrington are again huffing and puffing to fight their way away from their own line after another pressuring kick from Trueman. They do a decent enough job, but are consistently kicking on the fifth from well in their own half. This cannot continue if they fancy getting anywhere near the trophy.
27 mins. A perfect post-score set from Trinity has them running 50 metres before sending the ball down Hopoate’s throat. The Wire man claims it with less trouble this time and his side run it back up the field and into the impressive Wakefield defence.
TRY! Warrington 0 – 12 Wakefield (Isaiah Vagana)
25 mins. Territory, plus a fantastic kick from Trueman that puts Hopoate in all sorts of trouble has Johnstone first to claim and feed the ball right to Vagana who jogs over unopposed.
Warrington already feel like they are in trouble.
24 mins. Wakefield continue to be that bit stronger both physically and territorially with their superior carrying game and kick-chase on the final tackle. Warrington have returned to struggling to get out from under.
22 mins. A couple of sets of six for both sides largely in the middle third. Talk amongst yourselves while one of them tries to break out of this inertia.
19 mins. Jowitt joins the threequarter line late to create an extra man on the left, meaning Johnstone can pull in a defender and pop the ball towards Hall on the wing, but the centre is a little on his heels and can only watch the ball fly past him and into touch.
Feels like an opportunity missed, that. Warrington’s defence whoop and high-five in delight.
16 mins. The first defensive test for the Wakefield defence is passed as they repel the Wire attempts to break their line. This peps up the forwards and the Trinity fans, and there follows a great deal more pep when Smoothy creams a glorious 40:22 to put them on the attack in the Wolves half.
14 mins. The Wolves are not taking that try in any supine manner, Williams sending a high kick into the corner for the chase to smother Johnstone and drag him into touch metres from the line. Wire will come again with six tackles close to the Trinity line.
TRY! Warrington 0 – 6 Wakefield (Cameron Scott)
11 mins. The latest Wire set of six can’t go further than their own forty metre line and Wakefield are back on it with all their gathering power.
The ball comes out right to Walmsley who gathers the ball off his laces, steps off his outside foot and as the Wolves denfenders grip him lobs a delightful offload to Scott who can walk it in.
Fabulous stuff.
9 mins. Trinity are starting to exert a greater physicality in their attacking sets, with metres coming easier through their carries in the early tackles. This is followed by a pinpoint kick and good chase to pin Warrington deep in troubled territory.
7 mins. Jazz Tevaga has left the field to have a head bump checked. Jay Pitts replaces him.
6 mins. Tevaga puts Wakefield on the front foot on the 3rd tackle in the Wire half. It gives a glimmer of a chance with the defence scrambling but a loose pass to Sinfield slows the momentum down. Not that this matters as up the short left side on the next run a quick two passes find Johnstone with about 18 inches of space to get over in the corner. He dives and grounds it with three tacklers converging.
Ref Moore gives it on the filed, but the video ref will have a look…. NO TRY! His left hand was just in touch a split second before the ball was grounded.
4 mins. A strong carry from Scott takes Wakefield near to the Wire 20m line, but a mix up late in the set leads to an offside off a poor kick. Williams clears the Warrington lines from the penalty.
The next attack from the Wire has Walmsley claiming a towering kick close to the Trinity line, but he can’t do much when he lands and the ball is turned over.
2 mins. Trinity receive possession deep for McMeeken to have a drive up. The ball goes left quickly on the second tackle before cooler heads call for some settling carries and relieving kick on the 5th. Perfect opening set.
Warrington have a similar effort before returning the ball on the final tackle.
Kick Off!
Ref Liam Moore blasts on his flute of discipline and we’re underway!
Adopted son of Wakefield, Chris Kamara is in the crowd and has been described as a “superstar supporter” by Sky.
They love some hyperbole do the space telly lads.
Speaking rugby league knights as I was earlier, Sir Kevin Sinfield has entered the stadium at the end of another ridiculous endurance test fuelled entirely by love for his now passed friend, the great Rob Burrow.
He and his team have completed seven ultramarathons in seven days to raise money for the MND Association. You can donate here.
After this he will take his seat to watch his son Jack start the game for Trinity.
Wakefield have never reached a Grand Final in the Super League era, while Warrington have made four losing appearances.
A related bit of trivia: this is the first Super League showcase event without the presence of either Wigan, Leeds or St Helens. What’s not to like about that?
Get in touch!
Kick off in just over half an hour, in the meantime you can let me know all your thoughts, or question my view of rugby history on the email. I look forward to hearing from you.
Teams
Warrington Wolves:
Josh Thewlis; Matty Ashton, Toby King, Arron Lindop, Albert Hopoate; George Williams, Ewan Irwin; James Harrison, Danny Walker, Liam Byrne, James Bentley, Sam Stone, Ben Currie.
Interchange: Sam Powell, Joe Philbin, Kelepi Tanginoa, Luke Yates.
Wakefield Trinity:
Max Jowitt; Lachlan Walmsley, Corey Hall, Cameron Scott, Tom Johnstone; Jake Trueman, Jack Sinfield; Mike McMeeken, Tyson Smoothy, Ky Rodwell, Zac Lipowicz, Isaiah Vagana, Jazz Tevaga.
Interchange: Jay Pitts, Caleb Hamlin-Uele, Caius Faatili, Mason Lino.
Why not read about the respective journeys to the final here…
Preamble
Sport and history at their best are about the stories. Rugby league feels the weight of history more than any other football code in this land and has the best story.
Ask most rugby union or soccer fans when their game was founded and their response will be an “Errr?” followed by a quick Google, but put the same question to RL followers and “1895” is the immediate response. The year of the Great Split, 21 clubs in the George Hotel, the canary issue of broken-time payments and a clear throwing off of the rugby, and therefore society’s, establishment. A move that same establishment never forgave, as demonstrated by their active and relentless ignoring at best and persecution at worst of RL over the next century: league wasn’t allowed to be played in the armed forces until 1994, the sport didn’t get it’s first Knight until Sir Billy Boston in 2025, and don’t even get me started on what they did to RL in France.
It’s hard to thrive when everyone in power would rather you didn’t exist. Yet heritage through this adversity is a hell of a story and one that tonight’s teams know plenty about.
The oppressive heft of the past is something Warrington & Wakefield have grappled with to a greater extent that most clubs. Two sides from two of the largest human settlements in England that do not possess a professional team of any other code – there is only the Wire and Trinity in these places – so how difficult it has been for their fans to not win a league championship for over half a century of deindustialisation, Thatcher and all that this brought. At least when the government abandoned Liverpool in the 80s their soccer teams were hammering everyone.
Warrington’s lack of a title since 1955 is the regular subject of opposition terrace chant mockery (told you, league fans know their history), while Wakefield’s legendary team of 1968 featuring Neil & Don Fox (‘the poor lad’) and Harold Poynton were the last to hoist the trophy high in their city.
One of these teams has to win the Championship again over the coming hours and etch some history in real time. Both as a name on the trophy and into the culture and tales of their community. What an event it will be down by the Mersey or in West Yorkshire when a victorious team is welcomed back after so many decades, writing another story for this brilliant sport.