Wakefield clinch play-off spot with win over York Knights
Wakefield Trinity beat York Knights at the DIY Kitchens Stadium on 29 August 2026 to secure a place in the Super League play-offs. Corey Hall opened the scoring and Lachlan Walmsley finished with two tries; Jowitt kicked four goals for the hosts as Wakefield sealed the victory.
Wakefield moved two points clear in fourth place and sit six points above St Helens, who are seventh, with the win ending their three-match losing run. Trinity had threatened a top-two finish during a seven-match winning run in June and August, but defeats by Wigan Warriors, St Helens and Leeds Rhinos had ended those ambitions. Their prospects of home advantage in an eliminator could depend on their final regular-season home game next Saturday against Warrington Wolves, who are four points above them and remain within reach of the top two following their win at Hull FC.
After a minute's silence for the late Sir Billy Boston, Wakefield opened the scoring when Jack Sinfield’s low kick allowed centre Corey Hall to touch down for his fourth try of the season. Ben Jones-Bishop reduced the deficit for York in the right-hand corner on his first appearance since the 27 March defeat by Wakefield, before Walmsley scored and Trinity took a six-point lead into the interval; Jowitt missed the conversion after Walmsley’s try.
Early in the second half Xavier Va'a powered through for York and Jon Bennison’s conversion drew the visitors level, but a McMeeken effort was disallowed after a video review ruled that Max Jowitt had impeded Scott Galeano. Ky Rodwell won a penalty that Jowitt kicked to restore Wakefield’s lead, only for Bennison to level the game again with a penalty following a high tackle by Tyson Smoothy on replacement Ata Hingano.
Wakefield then scored three tries in a 10-minute spell, beginning with Mike McMeeken’s pass to Jayden Myers. A misplaced Bennison pass fell into the path of full-back Max Jowitt, who ran in and then created the try that Walmsley finished six minutes later; Jowitt added his third successful conversion with four minutes remaining. The result came in the same week York announced a deal had been struck to sell a majority stake to new investors and left the Knights having lost four successive games while remaining level on points with fourth-bottom Hull.
Wakefield: Jowitt; Myers, Scott, Hall, Walmsley; Sinfield, Trueman; Hamlin-Uele, Smith, Rodwell, McMeeken, Lipowicz, Pitts. Interchanges: Lino, Smoothy, Tevaga, Faatili.
York: Mata'afa; Jones-Bishop, Galeano, Wood, Bennison; Hunter, Harris; Martin, McShane, Vaughan, Dee, Field, Balmforth. Interchanges: Doyle, Va'a, Thompson, Hingano.
Wakefield prop Mike McMeeken told BBC Sport: "The main [requirement] was patience. It took us 60 or 70 minutes to break York down. We knew it was going to need an 80-minute performance. "[Inclement] conditions like this are perfect for us to learn because if we want to get to the Grand Final come October at Old Trafford it will be a wet Saturday night like this. "We'd like to get a home [eliminator] - that would be ideal. We were pushing for the top two, but now it's just about getting that confidence back. This helps."
York Knights head coach Mark Applegarth told BBC Radio York: "First, congratulations to Wakefield. We wish them all the best in the play-offs and they're a quality team. "It was a really tight game. We spoke at half-time about showing more urgency on the floor, generating more tempo, getting more field position and investing more energy in the first two tackles, to slow the rucks down so Wakefield couldn't roll us as easily. "We told our lads to chance their arm a bit and go for glory in that last 20, so that's probably why we ended up a little more sloppy."
Wakefield host Warrington Wolves in their final home game of the regular season next Saturday, while York travel to Catalans Dragons next Saturday before hosting Bradford Bulls in their final fixture on 10 September.
