Trinity returned to winning ways in front of a vocal home crowd, after edging Leeds Rhinos 26-24 in an exhilarating Easter Monday derby.
Lee Kershaw starred in Trinity’s deserved home win, making his competitive debut and scoring a try, whilst Danny Kirmond made his 150th appearance as club captain, on a glorious afternoon in the sunshine.
Trinity opened the scores on the tenth minute, when an offload from Mason Caton-Brown sent debutant Kershaw for a brilliant breakaway down the wing, as he claimed a memorable first try under the posts; sending the home fans into raptures.
Ten minutes later, as Leeds began to look dangerous in attack, Reece Lyne intercepted, and raced from his own 10m line, showing impressive speed to score beneath the sticks and extend the lead. Ryan Hampshire successfully converted once more.
Leeds then hit back minutes later, as Liam Sutcliffe reached for and collected a cross-field kick courtesy of Richie Myler, and crashed over beside the posts. He then converted his own try.
The scores were soon levelled with just eight minutes left to play in the first half, as Brett Ferres cut through the Wakefield defence and Sutcliffe converted again.
Late Leeds pressure was dealt with well by the home side, as Trinity held out and ensured they headed into the break all square at 12-12.
Trinity remained dominant after the interval – always ahead on the scoreboard. The home side were then awarded back to back penalties and Hampshire made no mistake with the boot,as Trinity opted for goal.
Wakefield’s dominance was then further asserted, as the spectacular showcase of tries continued, with Ben-Jones Bishop burst away down the right wing, beating Leeds’ Lolohea to score over in the corner.
It was matter of minutes before Max Jowitt added his name to the scoresheet, through a fantastic combination of Hampshire and Lyne to send the Trinity fullback over the line.
At 26-12, the game was seemingly beyond the Rhinos’ reach, but the visitors fought their way back into the game on the 69th minute. A Liam Sutcliffe break had Matt Parcell in support, as he then found a gap in Trinity’s defensive line to cross.
Leeds had left it too little too late however, and Trinity’s resilience remained, as a second try from Parcell on the hooter was not enough to deny Trinity their hard-fought victory in a collective team effort.
Trinity will now prepare for their Round 13 fixture, which sees them travel to the KCOM Stadium to face fifth-place Hull FC on Sunday 28th April, K.O. 3pm.
Trinity: Jowitt, Jones-Bishop, Lyne, Caton-Brown, Kershaw,Reynolds, Hampshire, Kopczak, Crowther, Arona, Kirmond,Horo, King. Subs – Hirst, Pauli, Fifita, Annakin.
Tries: Kershaw (10), Lyne (20), Jones-Bishop (55), Jowitt (60)
Goals: Hampshire (5/6)
Rhinos: Lolohea, Briscoe, Watkins, Newman, Handley, Sutcliffe, Myler, Peteru, Dwyer, Albert, Ferres, Trout, Merrin. Subs – Singleton, Donaldson, Oledzki, Parcell.
Tries: Sutcliffe (23), Ferres (32), Parcell (69, 79)
Goals: Sutcliffe (4/4)
Half-time – 12-12
Full-time – 26-24
Attendance – 6785
Man of the match – Lee Kershaw
Match Report by Emma Holley