Matt Ellis reveals the coach he considered with Daryl Powell for Wakefield job

Daryl Powell will lead Wakefield out in this weekend’s Super League Grand Final – but Matt Ellis has revealed how it was a two-horse race between him and Paul Rowley to take charge after he assumed control of Trinity.

Wakefield will make their first appearance at Old Trafford in their history this weekend – not just in the Super League era – as they go in pursuit of a first league title since 1968.

Powell has masterminded the revival of Wakefield into a major force, thanks also to the investment from the Ellis family, but the Trinity owner admitted this week there was another candidate in his mind.

Ellis considered Paul Rowley move

Speaking to the media in the run-up to Old Trafford, Ellis admitted that while Powell was his ‘number one’ pick, the fact he was under contract at Warrington Wolves at the time he was launching a takeover bid for the club meant he was not 100 per cent certain Powell would be available.

That led him to consider a move for Rowley – but when Powell was dismissed by the Wire, ironically after a defeat to Wakefield, it left the path clear for Ellis and Powell to link up.

“I remember speaking to (Michael) Carter about it,” he said. “I’d spoke to Michael after six games of that 2023 season and said I’d go for Daryl if I took charge. Just on the off-chance he wasn’t liking it over there at Warrington really. I’d said that right then, but he was my number one choice. Him and Paul Rowley at the time were the choices I had in my mind.

“Then the way it transpired, Daryl started that year well at Warrington, they were doing alright.. then they just dropped off. So it just fell in my lap really, as an appointment.

“He was the one I’d seen what he’d done at Castleford, we’re only ten minutes away aren’t we, so you hear a lot and I’ve got a lot of Cas fans at work. You see what he achieved there, he turned the club round lovely. He was the number one choice.”

Ellis targets ‘powerhouse’ era at Wakefield

The Trinity owner admitted that if they were fortunate enough to be successful on Saturday night, he would hope it kick-starts an era for the club that would be reminiscent of their time at the top of the sport in the 1960s.

He has targeted transforming Wakefield into a ‘powerhouse’ of Super League – winning multiple major honours across the coming years. That could start this weekend if they beat Warrington at Old Trafford.

He said: “This is a young team.. it’s not like I think we’re just going to drop off.

“I want to build it so it’s a strong club.. by the time I leave here, I want it to be one of the powerhouses. You don’t just win one and that’s it. We have a long-term plan to keep going. Let’s win the Challenge Cup, let’s go and win the league again. I’d like to do what they did in the 1960s again, multiple wins.”