Wakefield head coach Daryl Powell hails performance of Matty Russell in huge Huddersfield win
Russell, 32, touched down for his side's first and last tries as Trinity moved up to sixth and pushed Hull FC down to seventh.
Last updated 1st Sep 2025
Head coach Daryl Powell described Matty Russell as a man of "iron" after the veteran winger's two tries helped Wakefield beat Huddersfield 48-2 to take Trinity back into the Betfred Super League play-offs.
Russell, 32, touched down for his side's first and last tries as Trinity moved up to sixth and pushed Hull FC down to seventh.
Wakefield had six other separate try scorers, with Mason Lino booting six conversions and a first-half penalty.
"I have just said he is made of iron," smiled Powell, when speaking about the former Scotland international.
"He is going for (his) man of the match and we probably need to take him up in the lift to look after him.
"What he does is put his foot down at 100 miles an hour. The difficulty for him is doing it every week.
"If he did, he is one of the best wingers in the comp. His challenge is to play more consistently.
"When you are putting your foot down 100 miles an hour into people hitting you hard, that's a difficult thing to do."
Win their final three regular season fixtures and last season's Championship outfit will be guaranteed a top-six finish.
"We are not going to get too carried away," insisted Powell. "We have three important games left to give ourselves a chance do something that would be an outstanding start for us back in Super League.
"It was a good performance," added Powell of Wakefield's big win. "Defensively, we were strong and controlled the game for large periods.
"We were excellent and back to playing some of our best stuff. It is a big win for us because it puts the top-six situation back in our hands."
Giants head coach Luke Robinson offered an honest appraisal of his side's heavy defeat.
"The scoreline reflected the game," he said. "It would be easy to complicate stuff, but we just didn't seem to have the energy we had last week.
"But Wakefield put us in that position. They won the physical battle. When you win that battle with and without the ball, it makes it very difficult."
Third-bottom Giants return to action on Thursday against top-two contenders Leeds and Robinson is optimistic his depleted squad can provide a response.
"They won't throw the towel in," he insisted. "That's not the group we have got. One thing we have been good at this year is when we have had down moments, there has been a fightback and upturn.
"So, I am hoping we get that in this Leeds fixture."