Wakefield Trinity owner thanks class of 2024 for putting club ‘back on the rugby league map’ - with ‘ultimate’ Grand Final goal journey now underway

Whether that’s because over 8,000 Trin fans watched in amazement as their heroes ripped apart a strong Toulouse outfit to lift the Championship Grand Final on Saturday to complete a historic treble.

Or maybe, if you were flying high over West Yorkshire at around 9.30pm, you could see the spectacular fireworks display and dazzling light show from Belle Vue as captain Matty Ashurst lifted the trophy.

The club may have been in the rugby league wilderness for 2024 after their relegation from Super League, but all eyes were on the city of Wakefield at the weekend.

Trinity wanted to put on a spectacle - on, and off, the field. To show they belong back in Super League after winning everything they could in the second tier.

And, in impeccable fashion, they delivered.

Owner Matt Ellis laid out his ambitions right at the very outset 12 months ago. The rest, as they say, is history.

Speaking ahead of the club receiving the official IMG grading results, which would confirm whether or not Trinity would be in Super League for 2025, Ellis told the Wakefield Express:

“I was a bit relieved on Sunday because I obviously talked it up at the start of the year. But it felt like we had backed it up and delivered what we had talked about for the supporters.

“I just had so much faith in - from pre-season - what Daryl was doing and the coaching staff. The playing squad came together and became a team. It has been an unbelievable first season. I am proud of it and we’re ready to tackle Super League now.

“The lads have been unbelievable. The squad has been so together. There’s been no fractions in the squad all year, no egos.

“I just hope that the next squad has got the same mentality as this one because they really have bought into bringing Wakefield back onto the rugby league map.”

He added: “The quality that is coming in should give us a real chance of doing something in the next few years in Super League. We don’t want to come up and go, second bottom, third bottom is good enough.

“We’re not going to pile pressure on ourselves and say we’re going to be top six next year or winning the Grand Final next year, but that is the ultimate goal in years to come.”

It has been a year full of highlights for a club arguably at rock-bottom this time last year after a 24-year stay at rugby league’s top table came to an abrupt end.

The club has seen a new generation of young fans stream through the gates at the DIY Kitchens Stadium, while the older supporters enjoyed a first trip to Wembley in 45 years as Wakefield won the 1895 Cup in June.

And Daryl Powell’s men rounded 2024 off with probably their best performance.

“It was an amazing night,” Ellis said. “The crowd lifted the players and the players were so up for it. It was a big occasion and we put a Super League performance in.

“Hopefully we can have a lot more nights like that with Wigan, Leeds and St Helens coming down.

“Wembley was special because it was the first time the club had been there for a long, long time. But Saturday night probably was the number one.

"It showed what we can do. We can get 8,000 home supporters in and we can put on a Super League style show.”

He added: “Overall we definitely needed to attract young supporters back. When you have a period of not really winning much, you sometimes lose a few supporters, especially when Leeds are doing so well.

“It would be great to start a new journey with some new supporters. Our ageing support base is great because they talk about the history of the club and how we were the best team in the 60s.

“But we need a youthful supporter base to help grow the club going forward.”