Super League’s opening weekend has been littered with surprise everywhere you look but it is a sign of the times in this particular part of the world that compared to what we have seen in recent days, this Wakefield Trinity victory at Leeds Rhinos does not quite carry the same shock factor any more.
Such was the dominance of the Rhinos during large stretches of the past 20 years, it would have felt inconceivable at one stage if someone would have told you we would enter an eighth season since Leeds last tasted success in the Super League Grand Final. But here we are in 2025, with the Rhinos facing that exact situation and in a real state of flux.
Once again, Leeds have rolled the dice in the off-season in an attempt to snap the failings of recent years, having finished eighth in each of the last two seasons. Major names including the former Great Britain international Jake Connor have joined the club and their legendary winger Ryan Hall has returned for a second spell at Headingley. But this was not the start they or their coach, Brad Arthur – who has been assigned the task of restoring Leeds to their former glories – would have envisaged.
The former Parramatta Eels coach’s demands upon this group are lofty, which is why his assessment post-match would have rung so many alarm bells. Leeds’ effort could not be faulted but in his own words: “That’s just not good enough. We tried too hard as individuals. We had some big moments individually but they put us under a bit of pressure. The occasion got the better of us and we didn’t handle that as well as they did.”
Leeds’ new signings, with the exception of Hall, struggled, as did their key players. They laboured without success all afternoon, with Sam Lisone’s try with seconds remaining putting some unwarranted gloss on the final score.
But in the opposite corner, Wakefield are another story of how the Super League landscape is shifting. Few knew what to expect from them after promotion last year but they return to the top flight with a belief and a mentality that they could follow in the footsteps of Hull KR and Leigh, who have won promotion and gone on to appear in major finals in recent years.
This early evidence was hugely encouraging, too. Despite several key players being missing, they forged a deserved 14-0 lead with two tries from Max Jowitt and another from Mason Lino. Leeds responded with a Harry Newman try just before half‑time but when they scored again through Lisone, time had run out.
Wakefield’s coach, Daryl Powell, said. “Most of the teams people are talking about have been beaten, which is interesting. We’re 100-1 to be in the Grand Final. I’m going to use that with my players as motivation. I’m going to use a lot of things, but we’re not being talked up and I’ll mention that.
“I thought we were great today. There so many good character traits in the way we played today that I think it’s an awesome foundation and we did so many great things.”
Leeds will not panic: and nor should they. But this was an early warning that these days in Super League, nothing can be taken for granted. If you are fractionally off your game, you can be caught out – and that is the sign of a healthy competition, if nothing else.
This was not a shock to match Leigh’s historic 1-0 golden-point victory at Wigan or Hull’s win at Catalans. But on the basis of this result, the gap between these two West Yorkshire rivals is narrower than many may have thought.
