'I've come back a better player': Tom Johnstone ready to make up for lost time at revitalised Wakefield Trinity

The Trinity academy product scored 87 tries in 115 games before accepting that his chances of fulfilling his trophy ambitions at Belle Vue were remote.

That Johnstone is back at the club just two years later says everything about the scale of the club’s turnaround.

"I'll be honest, I thought I was done," he told The Yorkshire Post.

"It didn't end badly and we stayed on nice terms but it had just run its course and I was ready for new things.

"The club has been on a journey since then and I think it's been good for them to reset.

"When I knew I wanted to move back to England, I'd not even thought about speaking to the club at first but once they got in touch and told me about their plans, I didn't see myself anywhere else.

"I had a few conversations with other clubs but as soon as I spoke to Wakefield, that was it."

Johnstone's move to Catalans Dragons was almost vindicated in his debut season when Steve McNamara's team went all the way to Old Trafford.

The thought of going one better with success-starved Trinity appealed to Johnstone's sentimental side.

"Some of the clubs had already won it before and others were promising a win but nobody can promise that," he added on the interest from elsewhere.

"There's the excitement of coming here and knowing that if you do achieve something, it would go down in history.

"From where the club has been the last few years and where it was 60 years ago, if we can bring some glory back here it would be incredible."

Wakefield have been to the Championship and back in Johnstone's absence, responding to relegation in emphatic fashion with a second-tier treble.

Trinity's success has not been limited to the 80 minutes on game day, with the work done away from the spotlight at the revamped Belle Vue earning the club Grade A status and a guaranteed Super League place.

"It feels like I'm coming home but it's a new club," said Johnstone. "It's a fresh start for me in every sense of the word.

"Everyone can see how much the stadium has improved but it's the structure as well. Everything is organised – we got our pre-season plan as soon as we went into the off-season so I knew exactly what I was doing.

"You can plan your life a bit better because the happier you are outside of rugby, the better you perform when you're here."

In the same way that Wakefield have taken a different form over the past two years, Johnstone returns an improved player.

His first spell at Belle Vue was punctuated by a series of major injuries, meaning the England winger averaged just 14 games a season.

Johnstone suffered more injury frustration when his playing time in Perpignan was cut short by a broken leg but the changes he has made to his approach have given him a better chance of staying on the field.

"I had to do some learning, to be honest," said the 29-year-old, who earned a place on the Man of Steel shortlist in 2023.

"For a few years, I had a bit of expectation but I wasn't really fulfilling all aspects of my game. I was still a young, naive kid, even at 27.

"Moving to another country, you've got to learn quickly. I had to learn more about my body with the travel and am huge on recovery now.

"I was probably a bit unprofessional looking at it now. I looked at myself and asked if I was doing everything I could to prevent all my injuries. The honest answer was no.

"Nowadays, if I do everything possible and still get an injury like the broken leg from a freak accident, it doesn't affect me as much because I know it's not of my own doing and couldn't be helped.

"I've learnt a lot about myself. I've come back a bit heavier and probably not as fast but I have to take all the yardage carries so I think my all-round game has improved and I've come back a better player."

Johnstone is hoping to join the rest of Daryl Powell's squad in full training by the end of December, declaring that "there's no chance I won't be ready for round one".

The trip to Headingley in February will signal the start of a new Super League era for Wakefield, a club in survival mode for most of their initial 25-year stay.

Johnstone was involved in the team that secured back-to-back fifth-place finishes under Chris Chester but this time feels different.

"Back then we aimed for the top eight and overachieved somewhat," he said.

"Now there is that sense of belief and also expectation. I genuinely, hand on heart think there's a chance to do something special.

"With how everything has been restructured under Matt (Ellis, owner), you don't want for anything. There are no excuses to not perform.

"From what I've seen of Powelly already, he's a great coach so there's a recipe for success here.

"There's a lot of talk about what Wakefield can do in year one but we've got years two, three and four to build.

"Hopefully by year four there should be some form of success. If not, it'll be on us as players."