Warrington and Wakefield meet at Old Trafford for chance to be Super League's sixth Grand Final winner

Warrington Wolves and Wakefield Trinity meet at the Theatre of Dreams on Saturday in the Super League Grand Final, with captains George Williams and Mike McMeeken 80 minutes away from leading their sides to a first Super League Grand Final win.

Only five clubs — Wigan, Leeds, St Helens, Bradford and Hull KR — have lifted the trophy at Old Trafford in the Super League era, and that exclusive group will gain a new member on Saturday as Warrington and Wakefield contest the showpiece. While the competition has traditionally been dominated by those established sides, 2026 has been defined by one team that has repeatedly fallen short and another that has exceeded expectations, and Wakefield's semi-final demolition of treble-chasing Wigan provoked widespread attention.

Head coach Daryl Powell urged consistency ahead of the final, saying: "We have to get the same performance level," Powell told BBC Sport. "When it really counts. "I'm not saying it's going to be picture perfect, it's very rare there is but I think we have to be at a very high level to beat Warrington and we all know that."

For several Wakefield players this is their first Grand Final, but Tom Johnstone has prior experience after leaving for Catalans in 2023 and reaching the 2023 final before rejoining Trinity in 2025. "It's going to be different in so many ways for me because as much as I loved Catalans, this is my team," Johnstone told BBC Radio 5 live. "This has been my team for almost all of my career, and the team that gave me an opportunity 15 years ago as a youngster. "So, this is special, this is the big one and it's probably going to be, if we get it done, the best night of my life. Sorry, after my wedding, my wife said. She said it has to be second to my wedding."

Wakefield will also be motivated by the impending retirement of back-rower Jay Pitts, a 36-year-old Ossett native and youth-product who has amassed just short of 200 appearances for Trinity across two spells. Pitts has managed the run-in while recovering from a bicep injury, and Powell reflected on his place in the squad: "After the Wigan game I just went into the changing rooms and said to him 'you know you get to play your final game at Old Trafford'. It's what dreams are made of," Powell added. "While there's a few players leaving us for different reasons, for Pittsy retiring after his final game in rugby league - what better way for us all to do something special for him as a person? "He's been a phenomenal player, a warrior, and I know all the boys love him. He gets a fair bit of stick for how old he is but that comes to us all so I won't worry about that too much."

Warrington arrive at Old Trafford seeking a first league title in 71 years and their first trip to the theatre in eight years; in the Super League era the Wire have reached five Grand Finals but have yet to win one. Ben Currie, who has been with the club for those previous finals campaigns though is yet to appear in a Grand Final, said: "It's hard not to know about it when you've got the opposite fans singing about it every week," he told BBC Radio Merseyside. "Obviously it's tongue in cheek and it's fun for the fans to do that. "We'd love to give our fans the opportunity to sing back to them but there's no added pressure from anyone from above in the club, from the coaching staff or from the senior players. "Everyone wants it just the same as everyone does at Wakefield."

Eighteen-year-old Ewan Irwin, who made his debut in 2025, has made 21 appearances this season, scoring six tries and kicking 82 goals, and could influence the outcome; the Wire say he has a chance to become the youngest player to ever score in a Grand Final. Matty Ashton praised Irwin's work ethic and willingness to learn: "You see him day in and day out, his work ethic, he's probably the best I've seen in a young lad [and] obviously I've been at the club for seven years," Ashton said of Irwin to BBC Radio Merseyside. "The way he's willing to learn when he speaks to leaders like George [Williams], it's just great to see. "He's just got that something, you can see it. Obviously I don't want to put too much pressure as he's my team-mate, but he'll go all the way and he's got a big chance to do something like that."

Warrington named a match-day squad with one change, Jordy Crowther coming into the group while Max Wood dropped out, and Wakefield were unchanged after their semi-final victory over Wigan. Josh Rourke is once again named in Wakefield's provisional squad as he continues his return from a knee injury sustained in August. Warrington (from): Taylor-Wray, Thewlis, King, Hopoate, Ashton, Williams, Yates, Walker, Harrison, Stone, Currie, Powell, Byrne, Crowther, Irwin, Hayes, Bentley, Philbin, Lindop, Smith, Tanginoa.

Wakefield (from): Jowitt, Scott, Hall, Johnstone, Trueman, Lino, McMeeken, Smoothy, Rodwell, Tevaga, Pitts, Hamlin-Uele, Faatili, Smith, Vagana, Walmsley, Sinfield, Myers, Rourke, Lolesio, Lipowicz.

The winner on Saturday will join Wigan, Leeds, St Helens, Bradford and Hull KR as the sixth different club to lift the Super League Grand Final trophy at Old Trafford.