Wakefield reach first Super League semi-final with victory over Leigh

Wakefield Trinity reached their first Super League semi-final with a victory over Leigh Leopards in a Betfred Super League play-off eliminator on 18 September 2026, the club advancing after a dominant performance. The result sent Daryl Powell's side into the last four for the first time in their history.

Wakefield's pack produced a powerful display and tries from Tyson Smoothy, Tom Johnstone, Isaiah Vagana and Caius Faatili proved decisive in the win. Trinity had previously reached the Super League play-offs on four occasions without progressing to the last four, and were defeated by Leigh last season when Leigh returned to the top flight following promotion. The victory removes that barrier for Powell's team and represents the club's deepest run in the competition.

Max Jowitt eased early nerves by converting a penalty before Smoothy produced a 40/20 to gain field position and then darted over from dummy half. Wakefield's forward pack kept Leigh under pressure throughout the opening exchanges, enabling the home side to build control in the match.

Tom Johnstone finished a flying corner try that required a video review to overturn the referee's on-field decision and award the score. Leigh responded in the last seconds of the first half when Lachlan Lam and Owen Trout combined to send David Armstrong over, Armstrong's finish cutting the deficit to six points just before the interval.

Trinity struck early in the second half when Isaiah Vagana ran through Leigh's defence to score, and when Jack Ashworth knocked on, Caius Faatili spun over following the turnover. The contest was disrupted when Wakefield forward Emre Guler, who was due to join Wakefield in 2027 but arrived in England last week to join the play-off push, was sent off after striking Trout. Lam later scored again after swapping passes with Trout, and Innes Senior finished a late passing move for Leigh but it served only as a consolation.

Jowitt finished with five goals for Wakefield and Leigh's kicker Cook converted two goals. A penalty awarded after a dangerous tackle by Jack Hughes allowed Jowitt to kick a penalty for his 500th Super League point, a kick that helped secure the result. The match included both video review decisions and disciplinary action that affected the closing stages.

Wakefield head coach Daryl Powell told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We got Emre sent off and it looked like it was going to be a tough challenge, but we had built up a bit of a buffer with how well we started the second half." He added: "They came after us and threw everything at us. That kick-try looked offside, but our boys have been class and did well to dig us out of that pressure at the end." Powell also said: "At half-time I thought we had dominated the game like we did last week [against Leigh] but the scoreline didn't reflect it." He continued: "We probably should have nailed a couple more pieces of play, but the players were really calm at half-time and we talked about if we got in good attacking positions and were a little more clinical we felt like we could put the game away." Powell finished by commenting: "We did that until Emre gets a red, but I just don't think it's a red. I don't see why [referee Chris Kendall] is so twitchy on that. He refereed the game well in a tense environment. Jazz [Tevaga] gets dropped on his head and that's way more dangerous."

Wakefield: Jowitt; Walmsley, Scott, Hall, Johnstone; Trueman, Lino; Tevaga, Vagana, McMeeken, Rodwell, Smoothy, Guler. Interchanges: Pitts, Hamlin-Uele, Faatili, Lipowicz.

Leigh: Armstrong; Senior, Badrock, Hanley, Charnley; Cook, Lam; Ofahengaue, Horne, Trout, Alick-Wienke, Hughes, Liu. Interchanges: Brogan, Davis, Ashworth, Ipape.

Wakefield will face either Leeds Rhinos or Wigan Warriors next week in the semi-final.