Jacob Miller targets brighter end to Wakefield Trinity’s season

Wakefield Trinity skipper Jacob Miller says ending the club’s long losing run was “emotional” for the squad but he believes there is now a platform for the rest of the season.

Miller is reported to be heading to neighbours Castleford Tigers in 2023 after eight seasons with Wakefield.

The halfback remains coy on where his future might lie but he is dedicated to Trinity for the present, as he showed with a star performance and match-winning field-goal at the start of May against Hull FC to end a dire run of seven defeats.

That was backed up the following week with another late home victory, this time over Warrington Wolves, to send Wakefield into the international break on a high and with a six-point cushion ahead of Toulouse Olympique.

“We probably didn’t need the rest, we probably needed to keep going,” said Miller, one of three Trinity players to spend last week with the Combined Nations All Stars alongside Kelepi Tanginoa and David Fifita.

“But I guess it’s been an emotional few weeks for the boys at our club.

“We’ve been in a terrible run of form before those two weeks, so to get those two wins has been emotional and a bit draining.”

Losing and winning streaks have been the story of Wakefield’s season but Miller believes they can settle into some consistent good form in the closing months.

He said: “It’s been hot and cold. We’ve won the last two weeks which is nice and hopefully we can slowly build.

“We’re a work in progress. We’re not going to win a Grand Final this year but we’ve definitely got a good platform to build on for the back end of the season and try to take a bit of form from what we have done.”

Meanwhile, an £8.8m cash injection to redevelop Belle Vue has been approved by councillors.

The funding from developer Newmarket Lane Limited, alongside £2m from Wakefield Council’s Rugby League Resilience Fund, will fund Trinity’s planned work.

The club hope to start as soon as next month, following the next home match against Wigan Warriors, with the demolition of the existing East Stand.

That will be replaced by a new 2,500-capacity all-seater stand, while the North Terrace will also be revamped.

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