Early days I know, but I can't help but be impressed by the news coming out of Belle Vue. Ellis is building on the solid foundations he took over from the previous regime by bringing in an exciting backroom team, the latest being a top Strength and Conditioning coach...welcome to BV Ben Cooper...as well as strengthening the playing side of things.

For the first time in years it's exciting to be a Trinity supporter in a good not-fighting-relegation way.
[urlhttps://wakefieldtrinity.com/ben-cooper-head-of-strength-and-conditioning-2024/[/url

Got to agree ,so chilled ,it is great that we should be fighting for the top of the Championship.instead of looking at other teams result to keep us in S L The last regime did a great job and have left us in a strong place. The new owners could push us past the post to get us a grade A ground .

I'm happy with this appointment, Hull KR certainly have done well this season and if their fitness is down to him then it's great to have him on board.

It all looks to be going well. I just hope it keeps going and we continue looking to get more points banked as the other teams certainly will be.

He is forming a bit of a Cas reunion but at least he's picking the good ones.
I think the backroom is starting to look very strong.

https://wakefieldtrinity.com/lewis-chap ... eMtHLuH2rk Head of Performance. That's a really important role for us that we've needed for a long time That team is building nicely.

https://wakefieldtrinity.com/lewis-chap ... eMtHLuH2rk Head of Performance. That's a really important role for us that we've needed for a long time That team is building nicely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXgOQby ... e=youtu.be Didn't know where to put this so this thread is as good as any. Interesting to see Asus still involved perhaps sponsoring the traing gear?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXgOQby ... e=youtu.be Didn't know where to put this so this thread is as good as any. Interesting to see Asus still involved perhaps sponsoring the traing gear?

What a great video. I like how Powell talks to them.
I'm so looking forward to seeing what this group can do.

OMG...we actually look like a professional sports team





I know we have never been allowed access to such things in the past, but I wonder how much better the training sessions are now we have an actual back room team in place ??

Anyone notice Atoni stood in the background 42 seconds in, with a surgical boot on his foot ??
The wife volunteers up at Pinders on a Friday and thought she saw him there last week

I'm sure Mrs FIL has nothing wrong with her mincers......


At least he has plenty of time to get fit if that's the case.....

He’s forming a trusted group of professionals around him who have and will work very well together with him .Time is ticking and our squad is not quite there yet complete and obviously will need lots of bonding /training sessions to hit the ground running and to have to do the same will all the back room staff would I presume be a bridge too far for Powell . Its one less very important piece of the jigsaw he has to worry about, as the eyes of the Trinity faithful will be glued on him and expect results from the off ,and obviously less pressure on him knowing the back room staff as well as he does and that they are at the top of their game .

TBH I don’t think Powell will feel under great pressure. He needs to assemble a team that can finish top 4 imo and then garnish it to maybe make the final. We will want to win it, but we don’t have too, we’d probably still get back in.

This will be due mainly to us having more IMG points than anyone else. It’s far easier to gain IMG points off the field than it is to go all out on it. There is no chance involved.

You can see the clubs confidence in the signings they are making. Two kinds of players. Proven professionals who will keep us competitive in the Championship. Then a number of what are basically trialists, players he hopes to have honed to a reasonable level by 2025. He’s preparing the ground, and to do that you must be pretty confident.

It’s the same mentality with the cheap ST, building for the future when he can charge SL prices.

That’s how I see it anyway.

Already dropping standards, I'm with ME and DP, anything but topping the league and winning the final shouldn't be on anyone's mind. I don't exactly blame fans though after years of accepting low standards, it's hard to get into a champion mindset. 1st for me, nothing else will do.

The league position is quite complicated.

Firstly, it's an average over 3 years.
You are then ranked against everyone else and given a final position (maybe the same) and allocated the points.

Also, final position for those in the playoffs are judged on playoff results.
So if you finish 7th you finish 7th (19th in IMG points table) but if you finish 6th but make it through to the final you finish 2nd (14th in the IMG points table)

So the swing of points in the season can be big (0.11 per league position) especially for Championship as you get 0.25 for winning GF but its still an average over 3 years so it has to be consistent change to make a difference

Those small points matter though.
Positions 10-14 are separated by 0.95 points.
So the league position, though small matters.

Winning the GF is a big target for us that will keep us in contact with those above.
Any club that has the "we'll be fine" attitude will fail badly in my opinion.

I'd also target a Wembley win in the 1895 Cup.
Worth points and I want to see Wakefield at Wembley again

According to ME we are spending considerably more then any other team in the championship on our squad this year, I think anything less then not winning the GF will be a failure on the field. If we can’t win the championship with our financial clout and set up, if/when we get back into SL with basically the same coaching set up it wouldn’t fill me with hope of achieving that consistent top 6 like ME has set us out to be. I believe there’s pressure on Powell to deliver especially after having all the funds at Wire and delivering sweet FA.

It’s first for me too, but nothing else will do is a bit daft.

No point building an all conquering championship team only to have to totally rebuild it for SL.

For example I think Gale will smash next season but I doubt he’s got a SL season left, hence the need to build.

Nowhere has DP or ME stated winning is the be all and end all. Of course that’s the preference for a number of reasons, but frankly they won’t mind how we get there so long as we do.

You and a few others seem to have decided that Ellis endless reserves of cash, well he doesn’t. He needs to reserve every penny to assault SL, So no need to break the bank just to show off in the Championship. And he would have to spend an absolute fortune to dominate it. Have a look at the other teams we will play, a few of those are not far off bottom end SL. I don’t think you can sensibly buy guaranteed success in this league, people are wise to what Leigh did.

So I don’t agree with you and privately I doubt DO does, he knows what’s needed to get into SL and that’s what he’s building for.

Just my opinion.

We are spending big but on players for the future.

In terms of squads for next season I don’t think we are much ahead of a number of teams, though that may alter.

Of course the aim is to win, but I’m not sure it’s vital. TBH nobody will care once we are back in SL and Ellis cash really makes a difference.

Powell will be under pressure imho if we don’t maintain top four and a close top four at that. Then we can strengthen for the playoffs as we did in 1998

I totally agree that our squad at this point doesn’t look head and shoulders above say Fev, they have made some decent astute signings whilst cutting away dead wood. I feel we need to win the league next year more so for our fan base, to keep building. It’s no secret we are a shoe in for SL 2025, and with that will already be targeting players that far ahead as has been discussed by ME and DP.

I agree, just got to spend enough to have a good chance to win. We don’t need to bankrupt ourselves to prove a point.

There are a number of reasons why we are favourites to get into SL next year, and winning the GF is just one. My point is it’s not the only objective. Long term we have to prepare for SL and that means buying some players who may not at this moment be as good as some players at other clubs. It’s a balancing act.

If we are ever to truly compete in SL we have to get far more things right than just the staring 17.

I’m not being negative I want us to romp the Championship in a way that sends the message out, But other things do come into play.

Of course a lot depends on what recruitment is to come. By my calculations it at least another 8. I grew that depending on who they are winning the GF does become more of an issue.

Just a debate for now.

I’m in agreement with PT, the things we do on the field of play will positively affect the off field stuff where we can increase our IMG score by more. Then add in the on field points that come from winning the 1895 Cup, topping the League and winning the Grand Final. Finally if ME decides to put LED advertising boards around the pitch, we should build enough points to secure our place in the top 12 and keep other clubs from overtaking us.

https://youtu.be/grkbEpIafm4?si=Vn_Y3zIh0qO3ni5e New GM, David Tucker - great to see the regular Youtube updates

https://youtu.be/grkbEpIafm4?si=Vn_Y3zIh0qO3ni5e New GM, David Tucker - great to see the regular Youtube updates

But that’s always been the case at ours and every club ,get the team playing good open attractive rugby and winning games is always going to attract fans, both old and new . Last season we had the core fans supporting the club as we went through our Annus Horribilis ,and lots took a break from a painful season . This coming season the expectations are on a all time high and fans have bought into the hype ,and all the team has to do is win games and keep the fans entertained in the process and it’s a win win . The icing on the cake is the new facilities which will come on stream and will enhance the spectator experience on match days and beyond . But for me the most important part of the jigsaw is the team winning games , because at the end of the day that’s what we’ve ever wanted all along , everything else is a Brucie bonus

Nice to see ya......to see ya, nice

Being good in the field is not enough at Wakefield.
If you look at the average attendances in our most successful years since the 60s it's still not above the 7,500 Mark.
Part of that is the facilities which are getting better and the active marketing and engagement.
We are getting that together by the looks of it but it won't just happen with success on the field.