Warrington Wolves face Wakefield Trinity with a first Super League title at stake

Warrington Wolves will face Wakefield Trinity in the Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday, 3 October, with kick-off scheduled for 18:00 BST. Neither club has won the Super League title. Warrington are returning for a fifth attempt at the Grand Final; Wakefield are appearing in it for the first time. The match will therefore add a new club to the competition’s list of champions.

For Warrington, the immediate question is whether Sam Burgess’s side can turn an improved season into a title after four defeats on this stage. Wakefield present a substantial obstacle: they have won four of the clubs’ last five meetings, including their most recent game in September. Warrington also have a win over Trinity this season, leaving the two 2026 results split.

How Warrington reached the 2026 Grand Final

Warrington finished third in the regular season, behind Leeds on points difference, according to BBC Sport. They then beat reigning champions Hull KR and Leeds in the play-offs. Their semi-final against Leeds was close: Total Rugby League described a controversial penalty as the decisive moment in Warrington’s win. That route has put the club back at Old Trafford for the first time since 2018.

The turnaround follows a difficult 2025. Warrington finished eighth that year and missed the play-offs, BBC Sport reports. Burgess said his belief in the club, the players and their approach helped sustain the group. He told the BBC that Warrington had been consistent this season and had managed challenges well, although he stopped short of treating a place in the final as the finished job.

Why Wakefield pose a difficult test

Wakefield finished fourth in the regular season, according to Sky Sports, and reached their first Super League Grand Final by beating Wigan in the semi-final. That result ended Wigan’s bid for a treble. Total Rugby League says Wakefield have won four of the teams’ last five meetings, including a 25-18 victory on 5 September. Warrington won their earlier meeting this season 27-16 on 28 February. Those results show that each finalist has beaten the other in 2026; neither result determines what will happen on Saturday.

Sky Sports identifies Tyson Smoothy and Tom Johnstone among Wakefield’s players to watch. It points to George Williams and Ewan Irwin as possible creative influences for Warrington, with Matty Ashton offering pace. Those are pre-match assessments of where attention may fall, rather than evidence that any one player will decide the final. Wakefield’s recent record against Warrington is a more concrete measure of the challenge facing Burgess’s side.

Total Rugby League reports one change to Warrington’s named 21-man squad: Jordan Crowther comes in for Max Wood. Wakefield’s named squad is unchanged. The lists establish the players selected for the wider squads, but they do not confirm either club’s final match-day 17. That distinction matters when assessing possible match-ups before the teams are finalised.

What a win would mean for either club

Warrington lost Grand Finals in 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2018. Their last top-flight championship came much earlier, in 1955, when they beat Oldham 7-3 in a Championship Final, according to Total Rugby League. Wakefield’s last top-flight title was in 1968, when they beat Hull KR 17-10 in that earlier competition. Those older titles are part of the clubs’ histories, but neither is a previous Super League Grand Final win.

The fixture is also unusual for the competition as a whole. Sky Sports and Total Rugby League report that this will be the first Super League Grand Final without Wigan, Leeds or St Helens. Sky lists five previous Super League title winners: Wigan, St Helens, Bradford, Leeds and Hull KR. Whichever side wins at Old Trafford will become the sixth, giving both clubs a clear stake beyond ending their own long waits.

Burgess is preparing for his first Grand Final as a head coach. As a player, he won the 2014 NRL Grand Final with South Sydney and received the Clive Churchill Medal. BBC Sport reports that assistant coach Steve McNamara, who has previously led Catalans Dragons to two Super League Grand Finals, will join Hull FC next season. Burgess credited McNamara’s experience while stressing that Warrington still have to perform when Saturday’s match begins. The outcome, and the final selections from the named squads, remain open.