Leeds Rhinos expect big Festive Challenge crowd as Wakefield Trinity sell out initial ticket allocation

Trinity have collected an additional allocation of 200 tickets and the annual Wetherby Whaler Festive Challenge is on course for a five-figure gate for the first time since 2019. Rhinos will unveil new signings Lachie Miller, Matt Frawley, Andy Ackers and Mickael Goudemand and have included several highly-rated youngsters in their initial 22-man squad.

Former Leeds coach Daryl Powell will take charge of Wakefield for the first time as they begin rebuilding under new owner Matt Ellis following relegation from Betfred Super League last season. Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington reckons a new sense of optimism among both sets of fans has been reflected in ticket sales.

He said: “Wakefield have picked up another 200 tickets because they had just about sold out their allocation. They’ve had a late surge and, of course, people can still buy online or on the day. As of yesterday (Thursday) we were quite a bit ahead of where we were last year. The crowd was 9,143 last year and we are going to do more than that.”

Next week will be the 18th time Rhinos have faced Wakefield in the annual pre-season derby, which was not played in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Wakefield became Leeds’ festive opponents in 2004, when the fixture attracted a record crowd of 13,238.