The corridors of Wakefield’s famous Belle Vue ground are lined with black and white photos of the halcyon days of the 1960s, when this grand old club were last a rugby league force. Days like these could not have seemed further away in 2023 when Daryl Powell was appointed by their new owner, Matt Ellis, with an initial remit to secure promotion back to Super League.
But Ellis, the local kitchen magnate who has followed Wakefield all his life, had much loftier goals for the club he had just purchased. He delivered Powell a clear message, something the Trinity coach recalled this week: “When I came, Matt said to me: ‘I want you to turn black and white into colour’.” There is only one colour on this club’s mind right now though: gold.
