Mike McMeeken could have been forgiven for giving up on his career-long quest for silverware when he committed the rest of his career to newly-promoted Wakefield at the start of the 2025 campaign.
Mike McMeeken could have been forgiven for giving up on his career-long quest for silverware when he committed the rest of his career to newly-promoted Wakefield at the start of the 2025 campaign.
The England second-rower has earned a reputation as one of Super League’s nearly-men having featured in three Grand Finals – once for Castleford then twice with Catalans Dragons in 2021 and 2023 – and finished up on the losing side each time.
Tipped by many to do battle in the lower reaches in their first season back in the top flight, Trinity, inspired by experienced head coach Daryl Powell, confounded the odds by securing the sixth and last play-off slot last week, meaning McMeeken’s latest and most unlikely shot at a trophy will kick off with an eliminator at Leigh on Friday.
“I always said I wasn’t coming to Wakefield just to get through the next four years,” McMeeken told the PA news agency. “I want to win something, and I know Daryl does too. He’s not here to go through the motions either.
“You play this game to win silverware and if you don’t aspire to that there’s something missing. I’ve played at Old Trafford three times and I know how special it is. We’ve got a group of young, hungry players here and we want to experience that kind of excitement.”
Trinity’s rise to a play-off place is in many ways a replica of Leigh’s charge through their first top-flight campaign in 2023, and Friday’s clash at Leigh Sports Village brings together two clubs whose on-field progress has been mirrored by the development of long-term infrastructure off it.
McMeeken, who signed a four-year deal at the DIY Kitchens Stadium, added: “Leigh are a good blueprint, what they’ve achieved over the last few years from being down in the Championship has been plain to see.
“We’re the same. We’re not just chasing silverware in the short term. It’s about developing so that Wakefield become one of those teams, like Wigan, who is in contention for it every season. That’s why it’s such an exciting project to be a part of.”
Wakefield put 40 points past Leigh on their last visit in March, but their chances of repeating the feat have been hit by the loss of Max Jowitt, who failed a head injury assessment early in last Friday’s final game of the regular season at Salford.
Leigh shrugged off the loss of a number of key players at the start of the campaign to clinch third place, and they possess all of the momentum as they look to clinch a win that would earn them a blockbuster semi-final at neighbours Wigan the following week.
“We’re on a mission to try and do things we’ve never done before, so we’ve got to go out there and perform like we’ve never done before,” said head coach Adrian Lam. “This year has been an unbelievable achievement but we haven’t stopped yet and we’ve got to keep working hard and striving for more success.”
