DARYL POWELL has hailed Luke Gale following his testimonial fixture, in which Wakefield Trinity ran out 32-8 winners against Castleford Tigers on Friday night.
Trinity were impressive from the first whistle, scoring six tries and keeping the Tigers to just two.
But the game was all about Gale after the veteran halfback announced his retirement late last year.
Gale and Powell go way back, with the pair first linking up in 2015 when the former joined Castleford Tigers.
It was a match made in heaven, with Gale going on to win a Man of Steel award, three consecutive Albert Goldthorpe Medals, a League Leaders’ Shield and an appearance at Old Trafford in the Tigers’ only Super League Grand Final appearance to date in 2017.
It was while at Castleford that he was first called into the England side making his debut in the 2016 Four Nations and eventually going on to play in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup Final, with England narrowly losing 6-0 to Australia.
Injuries marred his end at Castleford before a hometown return to Leeds Rhinos in 2019, but Powell and Gale reunited at Trinity last year as Wakefield romped home to win all three trophies available outside the top flight.
The 36-year-old enjoyed a 12-minute cameo at the back end of Wakefield’s big win, as the 3,079 spectators inside the DIY Kitchens Stadium – including the large contingent of Tigers fans – greeted him with rapturous applause.
And Powell explained what Gale is like – and why the halfback will soon have to get to grips with the technical side of coaching.
“He’s still pretty noisy, like when he was a player,” Powell said after Trinity’s win over Castleford.
“He will get to terms with the technical bits and he knows he needs to do that as a coach.
“He gets his point across and he has got a great opinion of the game; he has dropped straight into the coaching staff.
“He is around the coaches a lot more – of course he is still coaching the Academy – but he is a really good fit and great to have around the place.”