The new Super League season is a few weeks old but it has already produced some eye-catching stories. Huddersfield, fancied title contenders, have lost their first three games, while Leeds have underlined their championship credentials with three impressive victories. However, it is another team from West Yorkshire who have produced perhaps the biggest story – Super League’s perennial underdogs are at it again.
Twelve months ago Wakefield Trinity Wildcats headed into Super League XIX on the back of a turbulent off-season with a change of owner, which led to a squad being assembled at the last minute. They were heavily fancied for relegation, yet overcame that hurdle with relative ease, finishing 11 points ahead of Bradford.
Having been tipped by many for the wooden spoon this season, Wakefield have taken big steps to prove people wrong by opening with wins over Castleford and Hull KR. Since taking charge midway through last season, their coach, James Webster, has overseen eight wins in 14 matches.
The fine start put Wakefield third in the table. Nobody is relegated or crowned champions in the first few weeks of the season, but they have a four-point cushion on the bottom four already, a gap that could increase on Sunday when they travel to Widnes. The Vikings have yet to win in 2015 after an opening-night draw against Wigan and defeat against the Rhinos.
“We’ve won our opening two games, and that’s a good position to be in,” says Webster. “The boys are happy, but we’re realistic that teams are going to get better each and every week, which means we have to improve, too.
“We’ve improved on our character from last year, and that’s ultimately been proven in our strong start. We’ve had a much more calm and settled off-season than last year, and that’s reflected in the start, too. The club has had the benefit of hindsight. We’ve been able to see where we’ve struggled in recent years.”
Webster also admitted that he has enjoyed being regarded as the side against whom rivals expect to do well. “Every time someone plays Wakefield, I think they look at who they’ve got the next week and pin extra importance on our game,” he says. “Rightly or wrongly we’re still perceived as the team you have to beat, because you’re not sure when you’re going to get another win after that, given how strong the division is. That’s not a problem for us, though.”
Should the Wildcats make it three out of three on Sunday on Widnes’s 4G pitch – a surface on which they have never lost – it would be a similar start to that of Castleford, Wakefield’s fierce local rivals, last season. Then the Tigers finished fourth and reached the Challenge Cup Final where they were defeated by Leeds and should Wakefield keep winning then perhaps their fans may start to dream of something big happening under the stewardship of the talented Webster.
