‘It’s a long time between drinks’ - Wakefield Trinity and Featherstone Rovers set for first competitive meeting since 1998 as Daryl Powell prepares for ‘stiffest’ test yet of 2024 in Challenge Cup

Not even when Powell himself was head coach at Fev between 2008 and 2013, where he had so much success, did the two teams cross paths in a league or cup contest.

But the wait - since 1998 - will finally be over this weekend.

“It’s a long time between drinks for such a close rivalry,” admitted Powell ahead of the game. “It should be quite a game. It’s a local derby built over years and years and they are crucial to rugby league. The fans will be looking forward to it.”

And while both clubs are geographically close, Powell also believes the two teams are close performance-wise and is expecting Wakefield’s “stiffest challenge” yet after five wins to start their 2024 campaign after relegation from Super League.

He said: “It’s a short journey and our fans are just enjoying watching the team grow. I think we have been pretty good and we have been challenged in different ways over the start to the season.

“But this probably gives us our stiffest challenge to date away at a team which has been growing in the Championship for quite a few years.

“They have been striving for so long to get into Super League and have just come up a little bit short.

“They will certainly be one of them (main challenger in the league). We have had a look at York recently who people have spoken about quite a bit and Featherstone, while they have had some personnel changes, have got some really good players in the team. They will be there or thereabouts.

“I think for us, every week will be like a new exploration of what we’re about as a team but also what the opposition are like. At the moment we are exploring every week and finding out what teams are doing.”

The prize for the winner is a place in the sixth round along with the Super League big boys. And although Powell isn’t looking “too far ahead”, that is where he wants his new team to “test” themselves.

He said: “We spoke about that when we went on camp earlier in the year. The round after this is when the Super League clubs come in and we want to be testing ourselves. But we can’t look too far ahead.

“We have been bouncing from the 1895 to the Challenge Cup over the start of the season and it starts to stiffen up a little bit competition-wise now and we have to stiffen up ourselves and get better and grow and really find what we stand for as a team.

“I don’t think we are there yet but we are on that journey. We are doing reasonably well so far. I don’t think we were great last weekend (against Barrow) but I think the boys have handled it well so far and we’ll just keep concentrating on ourselves as much as we can and upholding our standards.

“We are confident whenever we are doing that.”