Magic WKND: Powell's proud record

Daryl Powell loves a Magic Weekend win at Newcastle – and in fact has a remarkable record in the Toon – with six out of seven wins there as a head coach.

His proudest record in the Northeast has to be his clean sweep of wins with Castleford Tigers, where a formidable Cas outfit enjoyed five convincing wins at St. James’ Park between 2015 and 2021.

This year, he will take his Wakefield Trinity side back to the Toon, as they return to Magic Weekend after a one-year hiatus.

Ironically, Trinity will face Powell’s former side and fierce rivals Castleford Tigers in Sunday’s concluding fixture.

It is their first Magic Weekend meeting since 2015, where Castleford, who were coached by Powell at the time, posted 50+ points on their nearest and dearest.

They haven’t met at Magic since but did come up against each other in Rivals Round just a fortnight ago, where a single drop goal separated the two sides.

And if that result is anything to go by, then fans are certainly in for a treat on the Sunday night!

On Magic returning to its spiritual home in Newcastle, it’s an event that Powell always looks out for in the Rugby League calendar.

“Every time I’ve been up to Newcastle, it’s always been a really special occasion, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it,” Powell said.

“I’m happy to be returning there. It’s awesome. I think the atmosphere within the stadium is pretty special and it’s a great place for the players to play.

“It’s a different feeling to a regular game – it’s got that special feel to it.

“Preparing for the game is pretty much the same, but as soon as you walk into St. James’ Park there’s a different vibe with all the different fans being there and such a huge crowd.

“I think it’s a special day for Rugby League – even the NRL have nicked it! It really is a great thing that we do.”

Looking back on that Castleford era and with Powell at the helm, ‘Classy Cas’ managed to beat Wakefield, Warrington, Leeds twice and Salford in the Toon – all by comfortable margins.

“Castleford had a really good record at Magic – whoever we played!” Powell laughed.

“We [Cas] played Wakefield – belted them, then Warrington – and belted them and then played Leeds a fair few times and beat them nicely too. They were big games. Castleford fans loved those ones.

“There were some really special games we had in Newcastle. I think the one against Warrington was a really good performance – we had to fight back to win it.

“Cas swept through everybody!

“It’s been ten years since Wakefield and Castleford have played at Magic. It was early on. The scores ended up being a bit big, so I think they moved that fixture on.

“We’re glad to have it back this year.”

Powell has a lot of history with the Tigers, which includes leading them to their first ever League Leaders’ Shield and maiden Grand Final appearance in 2017.

He built a team capable of putting others to the sword on a consistent basis, whilst producing some truly mesmerising attack which captivated the whole of Super League during this time period.

These days, however, his mentality switches as he steers the ship at Wakefield, hoping to reiterate similar success just nine miles down the road.

And where local derbies are concerned, it doesn’t take much to gear Powell up for the occasion…

“I enjoy it,” Powell admitted.

“I was there eight or nine years at Castleford, so I know a lot of people, and there are some unbelievable people at that club.

“But you want to make sure that you win those rival games because you get a bit less stick as a coach if you do!

“The rivalries are a big theme and it’s a massive game. They are really powerful in rugby league.

“It’s a huge rivalry. We’re going to have another big battle with Castleford this weekend.”

Powell has already come up against his former sides in Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves this year, in which Wakefield registered emphatic away wins.

Trinity then snatched victory at the death two weeks ago – ending their twelve-year wait for a win on home soil against Castleford – and Powell is hopeful that the Trin can secure back-to-back derby wins and ensure their travelling fans will be celebrating this May Bank Holiday:

“I’ve enjoyed my time against my former clubs so far so hopefully it continues this year at Magic Weekend.

“It’s going to be a great showing. I enjoyed the Magic winning record I had when coaching Castleford, so I’ve got a lot of great memories in Newcastle.

“It’s been really good this season so far. We’ve been really impressive; the boys are getting better each week for me, and you can see the belief and confidence growing.

“We know we’ve got some tough challenges to come and won’t get too ahead of ourselves, but we just need to keep believing that we can do something special.”

Wakefield and Castleford’s Rivals Round encounter delivered a stunning spectacle, and Powell is under no illusions of how tough their upcoming Magic meeting is going to be.

The Tigers come into this game boosted by their big win over Huddersfield, whilst Wakefield came agonisingly close against Catalans in the south of France, before Reimis Smith broke their hearts in Golden Point extra time.

And on the dramatic circumstances of Rivals Round, Powell commented:

“Rugby league is a crazy game. Castleford had a great intent in that first half and really came after us.

“Luckily for us, it fell into our favour and we were really pleased to win, but we’ve got a lot to fix up and toughen up mentally.

"The scruffiest drop-goal you'll see" ?

It may be the scruffiest but Lino has put @WTrinityRL in the lead #SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/KpxD9IkOqX

— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) April 17, 2025

“We’ll need to play better than we have done. We did a good job to dig ourselves out of that.

“We were 12-0 down at half-time and then it was close all the way through. I felt like we were getting that upper hand in the last 20 minutes and were going to have some opportunities to win the game.

“Harvey Smith comes up with that class piece of play and Caius Faatili was unbelievable – that was the best I’ve seen him play. He had a huge game.

“Their drop goal was only a couple of coats of paint from going over!”

The Tigers definitely have a the record when it comes to overall Magic wins - with ten wins to Trinity's five. But will it be Wakefield or Castleford who claim bragging rights in this year's Magic Weekend?

It's going to get heated!

Will you be there to watch Daryl Powell's Wakefield Trinity in action against Castleford Tigers?

Betfred Super League's Magic WKND returns to St. James' Park in Newcastle on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 May!

With a blockbuster Betfred Super League line-up and plenty happening in and around the stadium, will you be taking full advantage of the Bank Holiday brilliance and a weekend of Rugby League’s epic extravaganza in the Toon?

Be a part of it and purchase your tickets online now!

Information regarding kick-off times can be found here, with ALL six games across the weekend broadcasted LIVE on Sky Sports.