Good teams find a way to win games when they are not at their best but the worry for Wakefield is that, even with the new Super League season barely a month old, they are already finding ways to lose games they could easily win.
Their first victory of 2023 felt tantalisingly within reach on several occasions here. With Salford visibly off-colour and some way from the form which propelled them to within a game of the Grand Final last season, this was a match that felt there for the taking for Wakefield.
Unfortunately, it ended up with a result and an outcome that is starting to feel painfully familiar for Trinity supporters, even this early in the season.
When Marc Sneyd kicked Salford ahead by a point in the final six minutes, you felt that chance had passed for Trinity. Yet they regrouped, recomposed themselves and forced golden-point extra time through the boot of their own mercurial scrum-half Mason Lino. They even had a chance to win the game in extra time but just a few minutes later, Sneyd struck with the boot again and this time it was decisive.
It all means that after five rounds, only one team is yet to win: Wakefield. Their 25-year stay in Super League perhaps feels more under threat than ever given Leigh’s early success. There is still a long way to go, but the trap door is ajar – results such as this only reinforce that feeling. A win of any kind, be it scrappy or sensational, is starting to become needed, rather than welcome.
“We’re confident if we can carry on what we’re doing, some luck is around the corner,” their defiant coach, Mark Applegarth, said. “It stings a bit this one, though. I can’t knock any of their effort but we’ve come up with a mistake in extra time and a kicker like Sneyd is always going to punish you.”
Sneyd, one of the most nerveless players in Super League in clutch moments, was the difference but he and his teammates were below-par. They will look upon this as a lucky escape.
Salford broke the deadlock when Matty Costello scored but Wakefield levelled with Corey Hall’s try, their first points for over a month having been shutout in three successive games. Reece Lyne and Chris Atkin then exchanged tries but crucially, while Mason Lino missed the Lyne conversion, Sneyd converted Atkin’s try to give Salford a 12-10 lead at half-time. Even more peculiarly, that Atkin score was the final try of the afternoon, with a tense second half ensuring the game remained firmly in the balance.
The first points after half-time did not come until 10 minutes from the end when Lino kicked a penalty to make it 12-12, and when Sneyd nudged Salford back ahead with a drop goal with six minutes to go you felt Wakefield would fold. But they rallied superbly, forcing extra time when Lino returned the favour with a drop goal of his own.
You always felt the first error of golden point would be crucial. And it came four minutes into extra time when Wakefield turned over possession cheaply on halfway. Having already kicked a winning drop-goal once before the play was pulled back for a knock-on, Sneyd made no mistake, holding his nerve when it mattered most to ensure Wakefield’s worrying start to 2023 continued. Nothing is decided in mid-March, but the early signs are concerning for one of rugby league’s grand old clubs.
