Wakefield Trinity

Early years

The club's predecessor was The Young Mens Society, formed in 1867 by the Holy Trinity Church to promote sports, with the team itself formed in 1873 alongside a similarly named athletics club, Wakefield Trinity Cycling and Athletic Club (now Wakefield District Harriers and Athletics Club).[2] Early matches were played at Heath Common (1873), Manor Field (1875–76) and Elm Street (1877) before the club moved to Belle Vue in 1879.

After the 1890–91 season, Wakefield along with other Yorkshire Senior clubs Batley, Bradford, Brighouse, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Hunslet, Leeds, Liversedge, Manningham decided that they wanted their own county league starting in 1891 along the lines of a similar competition that had been played in Lancashire. The clubs wanted full control of the league but the Yorkshire Rugby Football Union would not sanction the competition as it meant giving up control of rugby football to the senior clubs.

Prior to schism of 1895 which led to the formation of the Northern Rugby Union, Wakefield Trinity participated nine times in thirteen years in the final of the Yorkshire Cup (T'owd Tin Pot), a trophy that is nowadays contested solely by rugby union clubs.

They were one of the initial 22 clubs to form the Northern Union after the acrimonious split from the Rugby Football Union in 1895.

Belle Vue was purchased in 1895, in order to provide a permanent base for Trinity. The money was provided by the Wakefield Trinity Cycling and Athletic Club and was also initially used for cycling and athletics competitions. The athletic club split from the rugby club as a result of the split from the Rugby Football Union and in 1896 formed a separate limited company to avoid accusations of professionalism, although they continued to use Belle Vue until the 1920s.[2]

Trinity won the Northern Union Challenge Cup for the first time in 1909, beating Hull F.C. 17–0 at Headingley. The corresponding 1914 final saw the result reversed, with Hull winning 6–0.

Jonty Parkin signed for Wakefield Trinity as a 17-year-old in 1913. Wakefield closed for the 1915–16 season but recommenced playing in 1916 following the introduction of conscription which meant that would not be accused of keeping men from volunteering for the First World War.

In a quiet time for Trinity, they won only one Yorkshire Cup (in 1924–25 against Batley) but lost in the final four times.

Parkin decided he wanted to leave in 1930, at the age of thirty-four, and he was put on the transfer list at £100. Hull Kingston Rovers would not find the money; so Parkin paid the fee himself to secure his release. The game's bylaws were adjusted shortly afterwards, so that players could no longer do that.

On Saturday 27 October 1934, Leeds and Wakefield Trinity met in the final of the Yorkshire Cup at Crown Flatt, Dewsbury. The match ended in a 5–5 draw. Four days later the two clubs drew again, with Leeds eventually lifting the trophy after a second replay, the only occasion it took three attempts to settle a Yorkshire Cup Final. A total of 52,402 spectators watched the three games.[3]

As of 2025, the 1943–44 season is the only occasion that Wakefield Trinity have finished top of the league.

In 1947, Wakefield Trinity centre Frank Townsend was fatally injured in a match at Post Office Road, Featherstone.[4]

Post-war

On Saturday, 3 November 1945, Bradford Northern met Wakefield Trinity in the final of the Yorkshire Cup held at Thrum Hall, Halifax. Wakefield began the match as favourites, they had lost only one of thirteen matches thus far in the season. However, Bradford won 5–2 and lifted the Yorkshire Cup for the fourth time in six seasons. The first Wembley final after the war produced a return to winning ways as Trinity, with names such as James "Jim" Croston and Billy Stott, pipped Wigan to the Cup 13–12.

On Saturday 27 October 1951, 25,495 were at Fartown, Huddersfield to see Wakefield Trinity defeat Keighley 17–3 in the Yorkshire Cup Final. The club was not destined to return to Wembley until 1960 and had to slake its thirst for silverware on two Yorkshire Cup and two Yorkshire League victories in the 1950s. Trinity featured in the first league match to be broadcast on British television, a clash with Wigan at Central Park on 12 January 1952.

1960s and 1970s

Trinity were runners-up in the league championship in 1959–60, losing in the Championship Final against Wigan.

Wakefield Trinity beat Huddersfield 16–10 in the 1960 Yorkshire County Cup Final at Headingley, Leeds on 29 October 1960.[5]

Wakefield returned to Wembley emphatically with a record 38–5 win v Hull F.C. under the guidance of coach Ken Traill and loose forward Derek 'Rocky' Turner.

Wakefield won their fourth Challenge Cup victory in 1962, running out 12–6 winners against Huddersfield. Many of the scenes from the film This Sporting Life were filmed at the Belle Vue during Wakefield's third round Challenge Cup match against Wigan. The club were victorious in a dour 1962 Challenge Cup win over Huddersfield although the Fartowners went on to deny them the double a few days later in the Championship final at Odsal Stadium, Bradford. Wakefield also won the Yorkshire Cup final of 1961–62 and the Yorkshire League of 1961–62.

Wakefield Trinity was invited to visit South Africa during June and July 1962. Neil Fox, Harold Poynton, Gerry Round, Derek Turner and

1980s

Bill Ashurst coached Wakefield Trinity while still playing during the 1981–82 season.

Derek Turner was Head Coach for Wakefield Trinity from July 1983 until February 1984. As of 2017, 11th in the Second Division during the 1984–85 season is the lowest position that Wakefield Trinity have ever finished. In December 1985, Wakefield did a deal with the local council to enable them to continue at Belle Vue. Five council delegates joined Wakefield's board giving them the majority vote.

The ensuing decline was temporarily halted when Wally Lewis signed up for a brief spell with the club, playing as a. But Trinity continued to fluctuate between the two divisions.

Former player David Topliss stabilised the Dreadnoughts' ship in 1987. He won immediate promotion in 1988 back to the First Division, retiring as a player after the final match of the campaign.[6] He remained at Wakefield purely as a coach and consolidated the club's top tier status by acquiring the services of seasoned internationals like Steve Ella, new captain Mark Graham, Brian Jackson as well as now former Trinity coach Andy Kelly and later John Harbin.

Wakefield escaped a threat of closure by forming their first ever board of directors in August 1991. Topliss stepped down as coach to concentrate on his business.[6]

1996–1997: Summer era

In 1996, the first tier of British rugby league clubs played the inaugural Super League season and changed from a winter to a summer season.[7] When the Rupert Murdoch-funded Super League competition had been proposed, part of the deal was that some traditional clubs would merge. Wakefield were down to merge with Castleford and Featherstone Rovers to form a new club, Calder, which would compete in the newly formed Super League. Although Wakefield voted to merge, the other clubs refused to do so; Wakefield finished below the cut-off point of 10th in the existing top flight and were excluded from the new Super League. As the sport in Britain entered a new era, it would be three years before Wakefield rose again to the top level of the game.

1998–2005: Entry to Super League

Under coach Andy Kelly, Wakefield earned their place in the top flight on the back of their controversial victory over Featherstone Rovers in the inaugural Division One Grand Final in 1998. Wakefield adopted the "Wildcats" nickname in 1998: the year they entered Super League, having won promotion from the first division.

Wakefield put together a startling series of results early in the 1999 season, beating some of the most fancied sides and ensuring early in the campaign that they would be safe. The club invested heavily in newcomers. Wakefield also played one of their televised home games at Barnsley F.C's Oakwell stadium against St. Helens.

John Harbin was the coach of Wakefield between October 2000 and October 2001, Wakefield's final game of the 2001 season was a relegation battle with Salford with Wakefield condemning Huddersfield to relegation. He decided to leave the club at the end of 2001.

Peter Roe was appointed Head Coach in November 2001.[8] After years of struggling to keep up with the Super League pace which saw Trinity finish next to bottom on most of their attempts they finally got around to making headway up the league. Peter Roe was sacked in July 2002 and was replaced by his assistant Shane McNally.[9] With Adrian Vowles as his co-coach the pair guided Trinity to their first-ever SL play-off position, finishing in 6th place.

2010–2015: Financial difficulties

2010 was a disappointment to the club, after losing Shane Tronc, Terry Newton and Danny Brough, and despite bringing in Danny Kirmond, Charlie Leaeno and Julien Rinaldi, they still finished in 10th position, five places lower than the 2009 season.

In February 2011, the club entered administration to avoid a winding up petition from HMRC over £300,000 in unpaid taxes.[10]

Former Hull coach Richard Agar became Wakefield Trinity's head coach before the start of the 2012 Super League XVII season, on a three-year deal.[11]

Agar was replaced by James Webster after a poor run of form in June 2014.[12] Webster was sacked halfway into the 2015 season just before the Qualifiers started and was replaced by Brian Smith. They went on to win the inaugural Million Pound Game against Bradford Bulls to play another season in Super League. Smith resigned in March 2016.[13]

2016–2023: Struggles and Relegation from the Super League

Chris Chester was appointed head coach 16 March 2016 and revitalised the squad. Compared to the previous season when the team were fighting for survival, Chester guided them to a top eight finish and a place in the Challenge Cup semi final, with Wakefield making the top eight for a second year in a row in 2017. In 2018, Wakefield finished 7th on the table at the end of the Super League XXIII season, finishing 5th at the end of the Super 8's.[14]

In the 2019 Super League season, the club finished ninth on the table,[15] and in the COVID-affected 2020 Super League season, the club finished second from bottom after a difficult campaign.[16] In the 2021 Super League season, Wakefield Trinity finished 10th and, towards the end of the season, sacked head coach Chris Chester, replacing him with Willie Poching.[17]

2023–present: The Matt Ellis Era

In 2024, Wakefield Trinity performed well in their return to the RFL Championship. Under Powell’s leadership, the team went on to win the 1895 Cup and finish top of the Championship, losing only one match throughout the regular season.[26] They then reached the Championship Grand Final against Toulouse Olympique, winning 36–0 to claim the title.[27] On 24 October 2024, Wakefield Trinity were promoted back to the Super League through the IMG Grading system, receiving an A rating and replacing the London Broncos.[28]

In the 2025 Super League season, their first back in the Betfred Super League, Wakefield Trinity finished sixth, qualifying for the playoffs — their first in 13 years — before being defeated by Leigh in the eliminator. They became one of the few clubs to achieve promotion and then reach the playoffs immediately.[29] The club maintained their A rating for the 2026 season.

Crest

Every crest up until 1999 focused on the fleur-de-lys present on the Wakefield County Borough coat of arms. When the club was rebranded the Wildcats the fleur-de-lys was dropped although the club was still called Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. the new crest was the wildcat with Wildcats predominantly showing. In 2012 the crest was tweaked to contain the club's full name and the fleur-de-lys symbol. The Wildcats name was still used, but from 2015 the fleur-de-lys featured inside a shield with two stars above it for the two Championship titles they have won. In 2017 the Club reverted to the name Wakefield Trinity and the club badge has been returned to a white fleur-de-Lys in a blue shield with the founding date of 1873 proudly displayed.

Colours

Wakefield Trinity's colours are red, white and blue. Traditionally most of their kits are predominantly white with a red and blue V or a blue and red hoop although some kits have been predominantly blue or red.

Belle Vue

The site was purchased in 1895 after the split between rugby league and rugby union, to provide a permanent base for Wakefield Trinity who had been playing on fields in the area since 1873. Money was provided by the Wakefield Athletic Club, and the ground was also used for cycling and athletics competitions.

Floodlights were installed in 1967 and were upgraded in 1990/91.

On Saturday 16 September 2006, the stadium played host to 'The Battle of Belle Vue' when 11,000 fans from Trinity and Castleford watched the match which would decide who was relegated from Super League. Wakefield won the match 29–17 sending their nearest rivals Castleford down to the National League.

The capacity of the stadium was increased to 12,600 in 2008, to help with the application for a 2009 Super League licence, which was granted in July 2008.

In June 2015, it was announced Wakefield Trinity would leave Belle Vue at the end of the season as they could not afford to stay. Before the end of the season it was announced Belle Vue was up for sale and was sold in 2016. Although the new owners expressed interest in redeveloping the stadium, no progress was made. There were worries that the leaseholder of the car park would at some point bar access to the ground.

At this point, the freehold to the ground was purchased with the help of a loan from the local council. Theoretical plans to build a stadium elsewhere again stalled around the time of Covid; the club focused on the overdue redevelopment of Belle Vue at this point, leading to the Neil Fox MBE stand being opened in 2024.

Gains

Losses

Loans Out

Harry Sunderland Trophy winners

The Harry Sunderland Trophy is awarded to the Man-of-the-Match in the Super League Grand Final by the Rugby League Writers' Association.

Golden Greats (1945–91)

The "Golden Greats" side was named on 21 March 1992.[38]

• 1) Gerry Round
• 2) Fred Smith
• 3) Alan Skene
• 4) Neil Fox
• 5) Gert Coetzer
• 6) Harold Poynton

League history

Super League era

League

• Division 1 / Super League:
• Winners (2): 1966–67, 1967–68
• Runners up (2): 1959–60, 1961–62

• Division 2 / Championship:
• Winners (3): 1903–04, 1998, 2024
• Runners up (1): 1982–83
• RFL Championship Leaders' Shield
• Winners (1): 2024

• RFL Yorkshire League:
• Winners (7): 1909–10, 1910–11, 1945–46, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1965–66

Club records

• Biggest win:
• 110-0 v. Newcastle Thunder (at Post Office Road, 2024, RFL 1895 Cup)[56]

• Highest all-time attendance:
• 28,254 v. Wigan (at Belle Vue, 1962)
• Highest Super League attendance:
• 11,000 v. Castleford (at Belle Vue, 2006)

Player records