Wakefield Trinity’s star-studded line-up for 2025 if all rumoured targets including Jake Trueman sign
From left to right: Jake Trueman, Tom Johnstone & Cam Scott all feature in this potential Wakefield Trinity line-up for 2025
Wakefield Trinity look destined for a return to Super League in 2025, and have already completed some of the acquisitions they’ll need to make a fist of it back in the top flight.
As well as tying down some of their current squad, which was unbeaten in the Championship this term until being beaten over in France by Toulouse Olympique, Trinity have confirmed four new additions from Super League clubs.
Tom Johnstone will return to Belle Vue alongside Catalans Dragons team-mate Mike McMeeken in 2025, with Cam Scott also linking up with Daryl Powell’s side.
Announced last week, Hull KR young gun Corey Hall is the latest confirmed signing made by Trinity ahead of next season, another who is set to return to Belle Vue.
And plenty more are expected to be snapped up over the next few weeks, including Hull FC half-back Jake Trueman.
But what do all of these new, and even potential, additions do to the outlook of their squad?
With that in mind, here is a potential Wakefield line-up for 2025…
1. Max Jowitt
A product of his hometown clubs academy, Jowitt made his senior debut for Trinity in 2014 and a decade on, notched his 140th appearance in their colours in Saturday’s defeat at Toulouse.
Yet to permanently don a shirt for any other club in his career, the full-back has been by far and away the top points scorer in the Championship this term, and one of the best players in the second tier full stop.
2. Tom Johnstone
Germany-born five-time England international Johnstone also came through Trinity’s academy system. He made 116 senior appearances for them between 2015 and 2022, crowned Super League’s Young Player of the Year in 2016, before joining Catalans.
Having penned a bumper four-year deal, the winger will return to Belle Vue in 2025 after two seasons in the south of France, with over 120 career tries to his name.
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3. Cam Scott
Scott‘s signing was announced by Wakefield at the back end of June, with the Bradford-born utility inking a two-year deal at Belle Vue. Trinity will be just the second club that the 24-year-old has ever permanently donned a shirt for having come through the youth ranks at Hull FC to debut for them in 2018.
As well as loan appearances for Doncaster, York, Leigh – then Centurions – and Dewsbury Rams, Scott featured 73 times in total at senior level for the Airlie Birds. Having torn his hamstring, picking up an injury which will keep him out until the end of the current season, FC have already released Scott.
4. Oli Pratt
Following their relegation, Wakefield fended off interest from Super League clubs to tie star youth product Pratt down with a deal which runs until the end of the 2026 campaign, and the teenager has been a mainstay in Powell’s side so far this season.
Scoring 13 tries in 22 appearances across all competitions, including two in the 1895 Cup final triumph against Sheffield Eagles at Wembley in June, the youngster has now taken his overall senior appearance tally up to 35. That figure includes 11 games on loan at York last season.
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5. Lachlan Walmsley
The Flying Scotsman has scored tries wherever he’s played, and that was never going to not be the case when he linked up with Wakefield. In the defeat to Toulouse, the winger made his 100th appearance at club level in the British game – and he’s currently sat on 106 tries!
Since his move in the off-season, Australia-born four-time Scotland international Walmsley has scored 22 in 23 appearances for Trinity across all competitions. He’s the leading try-scorer in the Championship by some distance, and looks like he’ll finally get a crack at Super League come 2025.
6. Jake Trueman
The only man in this line-up who isn’t officially a Wakefield player for 2025 just yet is Trueman, but as LoveRugbyLeague revealed earlier this week, his move from Hull FC looks very likely to happen. The playmaker is contracted at the MKM Stadium until the end of next season, but FC are keen to bring in Leigh Leopards ace Lachlan Lam, so need to move him on.
Trueman has been at FC for the last two seasons, featuring 25 times for the Black and Whites to date. The 25-year-old – who was named Super League’s Young Player of the Year in 2018 – made over 100 appearances for Castleford Tigers prior to joining Hull.
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7. Olly Russell
If Trueman does move to Belle Vue in 2025, it’ll be Russell he’s partnering in the halves. Off-contract, the one-time England Knights international fell out of favour at Huddersfield Giants this term and made the decision to join Trinity from next season on a bumper four-year deal.
Russell has featured 93 appearances for the Giants to date since his debut in 2018, and with the half-back’s games out on loan for Batley Bulldogs, Workington Town and Halifax Panthers included, he’s now just three off hitting the milestone of a century of career appearances.
8. Ky Rodwell
With five NRL appearances to his name, but having not featured at first-grade level Down Under last term, Rodwell arrived at Belle Vue with a bit of a point to prove.
The Bega-born Aussie ace has certainly done just that in his 14 appearances so far, proving too much to handle for his opposite numbers in the Championship with six tries to his name to date. Rodwell returned from an injury lay-off at Toulouse on Saturday.
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9. Liam Hood
Hooker Hood won the Championship with Leigh in 2016, and looks likely to do so again this term with Trinity. The 32-year-old has been at Belle Vue since 2022, and penned a contract extension to remain with Wakefield at the end of last season following their relegation.
A 10-time Scotland international, he’s now made 62 appearances for Trinity in total, with seven of his 15 tries in their colours to date coming this season.
10. Mike McMeeken
30-year-old McMeeken will see his Catalans contract expire at the end of this season, and safe in that knowledge, Wakefield moved quickly to snap the veteran up on a four-year deal beginning in 2025. That move was confirmed at the start of May.
McMeeken, who has 10 caps for England on his CV, has been with the Dragons for the last four seasons, amassing over 75 appearances for Steve McNamara’s side already. By the time next season comes around, his overall career appearance tally will be close to 300!
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11. Corey Hall
Hall is the most recent signing for next year to be confirmed by Wakefield, with the club announcing his return on a two-year deal from 2025 just last week. The utility, who doesn’t turn 22 until next month, already has 30 Trinity appearances under his belt having spent the 2022 season – and the first few months of 2023 – at Belle Vue.
He departed last April for Hull KR, and will officially re-join Wakefield from the Robins come the end of 2024, but is out on loan at Castleford until the end of the current campaign.
12. Josh Griffin
A product of Wakefield’s academy, Griffin made his senior bow for Trinity back in 2008 but only managed that one appearance before departing the club. 15 years later, midway through last season, he re-joined them having been released by Hull FC.
And now closing in on the milestone of 300 career appearances, the Oxford-born dual-code ace – who at one time represented Leeds Carnegie in rugby union – has become somewhat of a mainstay in Powell’s team. He’s scored 15 tries in 19 appearances so far this season.
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13. Jay Pitts
Rounding the starting 13 off is Pitts, who will celebrate his 35th birthday come December. Like Griffin, the forward is a product of Wakefield’s academy and is now in his second stint with the club having returned in 2020 after over a decade away from Belle Vue.
Having scored eight tries so far this term, the Ossett-born veteran is sat on 21 appearances this term. Across the two stints, that takes him up to 126 for Trinity, and up to a whopping 385 overall having also donned a shirt for Doncaster, Leeds Rhinos, Hull FC and Bradford Bulls. By the time 2025 comes around, Pitts may well have hit the landmark of 400!
Bench
Mason Lino, Caleb Uele, Toby Boothroyd, Isaiah Vagana