Tom Johnstone ready for fresh Wakefield Trinity challenge back at his 'special place'
Flying winger Tom Johnstone is delighted to be back home with Wakefield Trinity and admits it is a very different place to the one he left two years ago.
The prolific scoring 29-year-old re-signed for Trinity from Catalans Dragons for the 2025 season and is raring to go again to add to his achievements at Belle Vue, having committed his future to the club by signing a four-year deal.
He said: “When they got in touch last year, they expressed a keen interest and when I left the club I wasn’t sure whether I would ever come back. I didn’t leave on bad terms it’s just I thought my time here was finished.
“For them to be so excited to get me back in and what they told me, everything they said, it was too good an opportunity for me to turn down.
"I’ve been around, I came to the final against Toulouse and the love and support I got from everyone welcoming me back, for me, it’s a special place and somewhere I’ve always loved.
“It’s exciting because it’s new for me, it’s like coming into a new club.
"The facilities, the fanbase has grown, and also the team, the players – I think there might only be four or five players that are still here from when I was here.
"It’s exciting to get in and meet a new group of boys and get working.”
Johnstone believes Trinity are getting a better player than when he left as he put his spell in France to good use and he wants to kick on again to become an England regular.
He added: “For me it was about trying to get game time and to play. That’s something I achieved when I was away, but it was also due to me learning a lot about myself, how to look after myself and growing up a little bit.
“It was a successful two years but I can’t just live on that, I want to improve and get better and with the players we have around me in this team, it’s definitely possible.
“I always want to play for England, that’s a huge one for me and I’m pretty upset to have missed the Samoa Tests.
"For me, it’s just to play as good as I can for Wakefield so I can be selected again to play next year.”
If he is free from injury Johnstone will likely make his debut second time around for Trinity in their Boxing Day game with Leeds Rhinos.