Josh Griffin confirms cruel injury as Daryl Powell makes strong Wakefield Trinity claim
Josh Griffin has confirmed that he will miss Wakefield Trinity's Championship Grand Final against Toulouse Olympique this Saturday evening. The 34-year-old suffered an unspecified injury just before half-time, with the back-row forward leaving the field, not to return.
A cruel blow, Griffin has played 29 games for Trinity this year, scoring 17 tries. He started in the back-row position as Daryl Powell's side defeated a plucky York Knights outfit 22-13, but not before two major scares from the North Yorkshire side. The Knights lead 7-6 at half-time and 13-12 in the second half, before a strong late surge from Wakefield secured the win.
Continuing his incredible run of point scoring, which now stands at 494 for the season, Max Jowitt opened the scoring with the first try, before Nikau Williams hit back for York. Liam Harris then kicked a drop-goal on the hooter to edge the visitors ahead.
Luke Gale scored Wakefield's second try after the break, before Ata Hingano restored York's lead. However, tries from Derrell Olpherts and Iain Thornley secured Trinity's passage to the Grand Final, where they will meet Toulouse, who saw off a spirited Bradford Bulls side 21-20 in the South of France.
But Wakefield, preparing for their 36th and final game of 2024, will have to do it without Griffin, who posted on X after the game: "Gutted is an understatement. To stay injury-free all season and then get injured in a semi-final and miss the final is a tough pill to swallow. But I'll look forward to watching the boys finish the job and get the club back to where it deserves to be."
Meanwhile, head coach Powell knows his team need 'to be on' to beat Toulouse, who humbled Trinity in the Pink City earlier this year. That remains the West Yorkshire club's only defeat this season, with the side enjoying a strong season that sees Jowitt just three points short of the all-time rugby league record for points in a season, currently held by Leeds Rhinos great Lewis Jones.
"We’ve got to go for one more game now to win a Grand Final," Powell said post-match. "It’s pretty good for the club with IMG grading points and all that sort of stuff. We’ve worked hard all year to get to this point—we've done some unbelievable things, and we get a good opportunity next week.
"But we need to be better than that. It’s been a crazy long season. We’ve been in training for almost a full year. It’s been a big challenge—it’s been Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, pretty much every week. The boys have done a great job. I’ve got to get the team right now, and then the boys have got to deliver. I do think we’re the best team when we’re on, and we need to be on."
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