Wakefield Trinity edged a thrilling West Yorkshire derby with Leeds Rhinos, with Mason Lino’s drop goal in the final act of the contest securing victory to move them into the Super League playoff places.
In front of a sell-out crowd, the biggest at Wakefield for well over a decade, Trinity – who were playing in the Championship last year – underlined their playoff credentials to inflict a potentially decisive defeat on Leeds in their own pursuit of the top two.
The game seemed destined to be heading for golden point extra time with the scores level at 14-14 before, with seconds remaining, Lino kicked a nerveless drop goal with what proved to be the last kick of a pulsating game to move Trinity into the top six. The Rhinos, who missed the chance to go third here, will rue this as a missed opportunity.
It was a statement victory for Daryl Powell’s side, who are playing in front of crowds three times bigger than when they were relegated from Super League with a whimper two years ago, but are now reborn under the ownership of Matt Ellis. They appear to be bona fide contenders for the race for Old Trafford come October.
The opening exchanges were indicative of two sides pushing for success this year, with both completing at a high percentage rate and not affording the other an inch. However, when the first error did arrive it gave Wakefield an opportunity they wouldn’t pass up, as Max Jowitt converted a penalty to open the scoring.
Two minutes later, with the momentum behind them, Trinity went further ahead when a wonderful handling move led to Lachlan Walmsley crossing in the corner. Jowitt couldn’t convert, but the hosts were certainly good value for their early six-point lead.
That try came after Brodie Croft had been sent to the sin-bin for a trip on Lino but to their credit, the Rhinos dug in well for the 10 minutes they were at a numerical disadvantage, even kicking a penalty through the boot of Jake Connor to narrow the arrears to just four points.
Jowitt then returned serve with another penalty, with points and gilt-edged attacking opportunities at a premium, to make it 8-2. But Leeds continued to improve as half-time approached and they got the try their efforts deserved as Sam Lisone forced his way over three Wakefield defenders, giving Connor a simple goal to make it 8-8 at the break.
The tense, nervy nature of proceedings continued after half-time. Perhaps the biggest talking point in the 20 minutes after the restart was Leeds losing Connor to a freak incident after he was punched in the face by his teammate, James Bentley, as the pair attempted to tackle a Wakefield player.
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The contest then came alive in spectacular fashion in the final 15 minutes. Leeds had spent most of the second half defending their own line but in a rare foray down into Wakefield territory, they went ahead for the first time as Jarrod O’Connor grounded the ball under extreme pressure to put the visitors in front.
With Jack Sinfield converting, you wondered if Leeds would be able to hold on from there with time ticking away. However, Trinity responded magnificently as Lino’s inch-perfect pass sent Matty Storton across from close range – and Jowitt converted to make it 14-14 and set up a grandstand finale.
The Rhinos came desperately close to snatching victory with Croft’s drop goal going narrowly wide of the posts but Lino made no mistake at the other end, nervelessly kicking the winning point from long range to spark rapturous scenes.