TOM JOHNSTONE admits he was sold a dream by Wakefield Trinity head coach Daryl Powell to persuade him to return to the Super League club.
Johnstone initially burst onto the scene with Wakefield with nine tries in 13 appearances in 2015.
The 31-year-old went on to make 115 appearances for his boyhood club before joining Catalans Dragons ahead of the 2023 Super League season.
Whilst with the French side, Johnstone found a new lease of life to register 37 tries in 46 appearances before being lured back to Trinity for 2025.
A new dawn had arrived for the club following the takeover of Wakefield by Matt Ellis, with Ellis’ first move being to recruit former Castleford Tigers coach Daryl Powell as his number one in 2024.
Trinity wiped the floor with the Championship that year, earning promotion via the IMG grading system and Ellis began spending big for their Super League return.
Johnstone and Mike McMeeken both joined Trinity from Catalans, with the West Yorkshire side’s rebuild ending with a play-off spot in 2025.
Wind the clock forward to 2026 and Trinity were Grand Final winners, and Johnstone has remembered the aspirations Powell had for the club upon speaking to him for the first time.
“He sold me a dream. He said we were a club that had aspirations and wanted to win things,” Johnstone said.
“He told me he was bringing Mike (McMeeken) with me – and he is one of my best mates – to try and do that.
“I believed every word he said and look at us now.”
Written off by all and sundry, Wakefield overcame Leigh Leopards and Wigan Warriors on their route to the Grand Final, before demolishing Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford.
And Johnstone insists that the belief had been there all along.
“I don’t think we could have done it without the belief. There are some incredible players that carried us through the season such as Lachlan Walmsley and Ky Rodwell, who we recruited in 2024 in the Championship.
“People like Max Jowitt and Jay Pitts, who are leaving the club, are probably the most special people who stayed through it all.
“We built a foundation on belief and special players who all work for each other and love each other.”
