It was a foregone conclusion that Wakefield Trinity were going to lift the 1895 Trophy as the curtain came down on an exciting afternoon at Wembley as the final game saw them face a brave Sheffield Eagles who are having an excellent league season.
Wakefield were 1/12 to lift the trophy but you could get 6/1 on the Eagles, a one-sided game if there ever was one, and when the sides met five weeks ago in the league the West Yorkshire side were 36-10 winners.
It was going to take grit and determination for the Eagles to get anything out of this game and liftthe Trophy for a second time in six years, but under the coaching of Mark Aston they would give everything that they had in the quest for the win.
It was the Eagles who kicked off, Trinity with the first use of the football.
A repeat set quickly followed by a penalty and then a drop-out put Sheffield under immediate pressure in the opening minutes. But they withstood the pressure and after Wakefield conceded a penalty, they were able to clear their lines.
No one seemed to have told Sheffield that they were going to lose the game, and early on they set about taking the ball to Wakefield and looking for the opening points.
On sixteen the Eagles took the lead, Anthony Thackeray shrugging off a tackle and coming back inside to ground under the attentions of the Trinity defence. Cory Aston added the extras for a 6-0 lead.
On twenty-three Trinity turned defence onto attack as Lachlan Walmsley leapt to make an intercept on his own ten metres line and sprint ninety metres to dive over ten from the left upright. Max Jowitt added the conversion to level the scores at 6-6.
Inside four minutes Luke Gale took the ball at first receiver, thanks to a neat pass from Liam Hood, to go through a big gap in the Sheffield defence and dive in. Jowitt was on target again for a 12-6 lead.
A Sheffield knock-on at the play the ball by Aston coughed up possession on their own ten with seconds remaining and on the half time hooter Thomas Doyle burrowed under the Eagles defenders to ground. Jowitt’s goal made it 18-6, Wakefield grabbing a crucial try just before the interval on the back of a Sheffield error.
Wakefield had one hand on the trophy two minutes after the restart when Oliver Pratt scored in the left-hand corner after taking a delayed pass from Jowitt to coast over. Jowitt was just wide with his conversion attempt, but Sheffield now needed three converted tries.
Wakefield’s fifth try arrived on forty-eight minutes with Josh Griffin flattening Aston as he palmed him away for a try from ten metres out. Jowitt added the conversion for 26-6, the flood gates felt as though they were buckling.
Just four more minutes had passed before Wakefield crossed again when Pratt got his second stepping past two attempted tackles without a hand upon him. Jowitt added a fifth goal to extend the lead to 34-6.
Wakefield players were now queueing up to score and next on the sheet was Jermaine McGillvary who took a Jowitt pass to summersault over in the right corner for the seventh try of the afternoon on sixty-two. Jowitt converted superbly form the touchline to bring up the forty.
Griffin got his second on sixty-five as the Eagles capitulated. A pass went to ground allowing Griffin to pick up the loose ball and run forty metres to ground. Jowitt added another goal for 46-6, Wakefield were in devastating form.
McGillvary blasted his way down the right wing to bring up the fifty, bouncing off tacklers and forcing the ball to ground for his second of the game. Jowitt was wide with the conversion attempt as Luke Gale was named the Ray French Man of the Match.
A massive, and expected, win for Wakefield Trinity as they pick up the 1895 Trophy in a match which they totally dominated and, in a season, where they are expected to sweep away the challenges of all before them as the seal their return to the topflight. Sheffield Eagles did well in the opening exchanges but once Trinity started scoring, they weren’t in the mood to stop as the Eagles couldn’t maintain possession for long enough to provide any kind of threat.
Wakefield Trinity: Jowitt (7/9 G), McGillvary (2T), Thornley, Pratt (2T), Walmsley (T), Gale (T), Lino, Bowden, Hood, Atoni, Ashurst, Griffin (2T), Pitts. Subs: Uele, Kay, Rodwell, Doyle (T). 18th Man: Bain.
Sheffield Eagles: Hansen, Jones-Bishop, Welham, Glover, Dawson-Jones, Aston (1/1 G), Thackeray (T), Battye, Halafihi, Dickinson, Bower, Farrell J, Gwaze. Subs: Clark, Murphy, Wood, Sene-Lefao. 18th Man: Hodgson.
Half-Time: 18-6.
Full-Time: 50-6.
Score Progression: 0-4, 0-6, 4-6, 6-6, 10-6, 12-6, 16-6, 18-6 : HT: 22-6, 26-6, 28-6, 32-6, 34-6, 38-6, 40-6, 44-6, 46-6, 50-6:FT.
Lead Exchanges: Sheffield – Square - Wakefield.
Referee: Tom Grant.
