July 29, 2022

Trinity shine against Castleford

Wakefield Trinity beat derby rivals Castleford Tigers for the first time at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle since 2015 as we take a scintillating 32-4 victory to take home the Adam Watene trophy.

How many superlatives can you use? Well, get thinking of some as Trinity power over the line five times to take a memorable win over the Tigers.

Liam Hood got us off to the best possible start before Jacob Miller, who pulled the strings at halfback, found Lewis Murphy to touch down.

Matty Ashurst made Willie Poching’s half-time team talk even easier before the break as we went into the interval ahead. Big scores from David Fifita and an unbelievable second from Murphy completed the victory in the second half.

Following last Sunday’s one-point defeat to the league leaders, St Helens, Wakefield headed into Friday night’s derby day clash with Castleford full of confidence.

With Jorge Taufua out for the rest of the season with a broken arm, Lee Kershaw found himself in the starting line-up for the first time since the end of last season after he recovered from injury.

New signing Jamie Shaul retained his place at fullback, whilst Miller and Mason Lino started in the halves.

It was Trinity who hit the front foot early. Miller took his aim at the Tigers’ defence as he found a gap in the defence, in the next play, Hood bounced off a few Castleford defenders to touch down.

Wakefield’s early dominance didn’t stop there, though, as we added to our much-deserved lead. Following a penalty close to the Tigers’ line, Murphy went up for Miller’s high kick towards the in-goal, and despite the referee calling no try on the field, the winger was handed his first of the night by the video assistant referee.

The barrage of pressure didn’t end there, however, as Ashurst ran over his first of the evening. Miller pulled the strings as gaps appeared on the Tigers’ left edge as his beautifully-weighted pass found the Trinity second-row to dive over, completing a scintillating first period.

In the mood and finding their groove, Wakefield was threatening with every attack. Following a spell of pressure on the Trinity line, the ball was eventually found the hands of halfback Miller, who completed a lovely pass to Murphy as the rapid winger left Jake Momo for dust, serenading the Trinity faithful on his way to the whitewash.

A stand-out performance wouldn’t be complete without a stand-out try, and this game had its pick. This time it was the big bopper, and after completing a wonderfully, powerful spell with a try. Fifita palming off multiple Castleford defenders to bulldoze his way over the line.

Great line speed and metres on contact was the order of the day for Wakefield and despite a try from the hosts through Danny Richardson, Trinity’s mix of strength and skill proved fruitful on the day as they beat Castleford for the first time away since 2015.