Wigan Warriors and Wakefield Trinity meet in Super League semi-final on Saturday
Wigan Warriors and Wakefield Trinity meet in Saturday's Super League play-off semi-final, broadcast live on BBC Two and iPlayer from 17:15 BST, with kick-off at 17:30 BST on 26 September.
Wakefield were a Championship side as recently as 2024 but their promotion and overhaul have delivered consecutive play-off appearances and left them "just 80 minutes from the Grand Final for the first time in the competition's history." Wigan, by contrast, have reclaimed the Challenge Cup and the League Leaders' Shield they surrendered in 2025 and enter the semi-final as serial winners. The match will be shown live on BBC Two and iPlayer from 17:15 BST on Saturday.
Hull KR's breakthrough last season had particular resonance for Wigan after the Warriors' treble the year before was overturned by Willie Peters' team, and Wigan's 2026 campaign has carried an intensity that injuries and mid-season wobble could not curb. Their last defeat came when a young, inexperienced side, filling in for rested stars before the Challenge Cup final, went down heavily at Hull KR back in May; just a week later, the cup was won and the subsequent 15 league games since have also ended in victory for Wigan. "We're really positive about where we're at," Harry Smith told BBC Radio Manchester. "We took a lot of learnings last year, not taking away any silverware and it's given us a lot of motivation."
Wakefield's resurgence traces back to owner Matt Ellis completing his takeover in late 2023 and the appointment of Daryl Powell, whose previous spells at Warrington, Leeds, Featherstone and Castleford were noted for tangible achievements. Powell's return to coaching at Belle Vue produced play-offs in Wakefield's first year back in the top tier and a semi-final place this term secured with victory over Leigh. "You just want the boys to go and play the game as they see it, it's important we don't get carried away with how important it is," Powell said.
Tyson Smoothy has been a key figure for Wakefield from hooker, scoring in the eliminator win over Leigh, having swapped the NRL Grand Final for the northern hemisphere after signing for Trinity from Brisbane Broncos; his whistlestop tour will end this season after he signed for new franchise Perth Bears. "You look at the crowd on Friday just gone, how much it means to them just to make finals in general," Smoothy told BBC Radio Leeds. "To be able to go to Old Trafford and a Grand Final would be massive for the club, but we're not looking too far ahead. "We touched on earlier in the year that a similar thing happened last year when I left Broncos and won a Grand Final, hopefully I can do it again and it would be a nice way to finish."
The two sides have already met three times this season in league and cup, with Wigan victorious in each encounter and the home side seeing off Wakefield en route to their Challenge Cup success. "They've been superb as a club how they've built on and off the field, the recruitment is smart," Warriors head coach Matt Peet said. "The style of play has a lot to it, big powerful athletes and detailed attacking shape. There's a lot for us to contend with."
The match will be available across BBC platforms including the BBC Sport website and app, with audio coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. A Wakefield win would leave the club 80 minutes from the Grand Final for the first time in the competition's history.