Wakefield Trinity head coach Daryl Powell has explained his decision to appoint new signing Mike McMeeken as captain of the club. The West Yorkshire outfit are back in Super League this year after a season in the Championship, with the England forward chosen to lead the club this term.

McMeeken has previously worked with Powell at Castleford Tigers, where they spent six years together. Now reunited at Belle Vue, the 30-year-old will replace Matty Ashurst in the role, with the back row forward leaving the club at the end of last season to join Championship outfit Oldham.

Speaking on the appointment, Powell spoke of McMeeken’s leadership qualities, with the player going on to develop at French club Catalans Dragons and become an England international. He said: "Mike has grown massively over his career as a player and a leader, and I believe he will lead our leadership group in an outstanding way.

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"He will lead the team by example, but also with his knowledge and experience of playing the game at international level and in big games across his career."

McMeeken has played over 250 career games since debuting at London Broncos over 12 years ago. He then moved to Castleford before heading to Perpignan for the last four years, where he played in two Super League Grand Finals, a feat he first achieved with Cas in 2017.

"It’s a great honour to be named captain of a club with such a great history and to be named captain at the beginning of the journey that we are going on at the moment," McMeeken said. "The great thing about this club and the group we have is that we have a number of great leaders in the team, with the likes of Jay Pitts and Liam Hood being just two of the guys with a vast amount of experience and respect from the rest of the players.

"I am really looking forward to the first game where I lead out the team. Hopefully, there will be a packed-out crowd for that first Super League game."

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