When Jake Trueman thinks back to scoring a hat-trick on his full Super League debut against Wigan Warriors, things are a little hazy.
For starters, he can’t believe it’s nine years ago since, as a teenager and in only his second Castleford Tigers appearance, he surged onto the scene to bring one of the biggest clubs in rugby league history to their knees.
Trueman is now 27 and piloting Wakefield Trinity, no longer the dazzling tyro but more a master craftsman once more bidding to bring Wigan down again.
His current employers face them in Sunday’s mouth-watering Betfred Challenge Cup quarter-final, televised live on BBC1 (KO 1pm).
On that dream first appearance against the Cherry and Whites, Trueman recalls: “It was 2017. It’s crazy. I can’t believe how long ago it was.
“It’s crazy how quick everything goes. All I remember really is a couple of those tries. It was all pretty much a blur that day.
“But it was a great time. And now it’s Wigan again.”
Wakefield are firm underdogs heading into the clash at DIY Kitchens Stadium, even though they have won five successive games to rise to joint-top in Super League.
Wigan, of course, are Cup kings, with no club having won the trophy more than their 21 times.
But Trinity warmed up in style with Easter Sunday’s ruthless 34-0 destruction of derby rivals Castleford, two-try Trueman returning to his old stomping ground to deliver a half-back masterclass.
He admitted: “It was a good win and a good crowd down there.
“We got beat pretty comfortably there last season so we talked about putting that right. And it was probably our best performance of the year, which was pleasing as well.
“I feel like we needed a really good performance. It's probably as close to an 80-minute performance as we could get to go into Wigan: we’ve been a little bit up and down.
“To go into this one, we've got to be firing because with them coming in on the back of a Good Friday derby loss last week, they are going to be up for it. It's going to be an 80-minute game needed on Sunday.”
Trueman joined Wakefield from Hull FC ahead of last season, reuniting with his former Castleford coach Daryl Powell who gave him his big shot when initially signing him after his hometown Bradford Bulls were liquidated in 2017.
Former England centre Michael Shenton, his captain for all but one of his six seasons at Wheldon Road, is an assistant coach at Trinity.
After some frustrating injury-plagued years, Trueman has been ever-present this term and he admitted: “I am really enjoying it.
“Daryl knows my strengths. He’s brought me through since I've been about 16, 17. He knows what I'm good at. He knows what I’m not so good at and leans into my strengths. “We’ve also got Michael Shenton there who I played with for years so
they know how to get the best out of me.
“I get on with Shenny. He’s a really good fella so I love working with him.
“It's pretty comfortable [switching from team-mates]. I feel like it’s benefitted us because we sort of know each other, how each other works, how we want to play the game which is important and I think it's a good relationship.”
Powell, meanwhile, has just been named Betfred Super League Coach of the Month for March and Trinity are buoyed by an impressive recent record against Wigan, winning their last three home matches against Matt Peet’s side dating back to 2023.
Any superstitious Wakefield fans looking for further reason to believe a surprise is on the cards can also look at the last of their club’s five Challenge Cup final wins.
It came against Wigan in 1963, the heyday of the iconic Neil Fox et al.
Trueman added: “We've done a little bit around the history of the club.
“We get books about what’s happened in the past and we’ve had a bit of a look at some of the legends who have played here.
“And then [owner] Matt [Ellis] comes in: you can see the passion he's got. He really wants to win something, if not this year, then over the next couple of years.
"There's lots of passion, lots of ambition to win stuff now.”
Wigan are still without their injured talisman Beven French but, in Jack Farrimond, they have an exciting half-back who, some would say, has a likeness to the teenaged Trueman.
Trueman, a Wembley try-scorer when Castleford lost the 2021 Challenge Cup final to St Helens, contested: “He's a little bit quicker than me - a bit sharper!
“I like him. I like him a lot. He looks like he’s going to be a really good player for them. “I'm not sure how they're going to do it [in the future] with Harry Smith and Bevan French in the halves.
“But it's good to see young English halves coming up with him and Ewan Irwin, the young lad from Warrington, as well. It's good to see. He's looked pretty good this year. It's good for English rugby.”
On that subject, and on the back of his stellar display against Castleford, there has been talk of Trueman earning a long-awaited England debut in this year’s World Cup.
He was a Great Britain tourist under Wayne Bennett in 2019, having won Super League’s Young Player of the Year the previous year, but never appeared for the Lions on their ill-fated tour of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Trueman conceded: “It’s always nice to hear those sorts of things. But it's only one good game and there's guys that have been in and around that England team who have done it for years.
“So, to get my name, seriously, above them, I've got to do it for longer periods and perform well.
“It's something I'd love to do, but I'm not thinking about it too much.
“It’s been massive to get some regular games strung together [with Wakefield].
“The big thing about playing half is the rhythm and you get into a bit of a routine. So, the more you play, the better you feel.
“You build week on week and you get more used to the players around you. You build combinations and that’s massive to play consistently.”
Trueman forged a great partnership with Jack Sinfield at the start of the season but Mason Lino returned to link up with him at Castleford.
He said: “It’s good having that competition. I feel like we've got that throughout the team; in the forwards and outside backs, too.
“There's some good players missing out. It's only going to benefit you. You've got to be on your game in training and playing. It's good.
“If we can keep everyone fit, I think we're going to have a good year.”
Which Wakefield hope will end in glory at Wembley and a first major trophy in more than half-a-century...
By Dave Craven
Watch Wakefield Trinity host Wigan Warriors in the quarter-finals this Sunday (12 April, K.O. 1pm), live on BBC One.
It's Betfred Challenge Cup Finals Day at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 30 May 2026. Book your tickets here today and enjoy our early bird prices!
