'Leave a bigger legacy behind': David Fifita determined to cement name in Wakefield Trinity folklore

Mark Applegarth's side had lost all 13 Super League games and scored just 83 points in the process, a horror start that featured five nillings.

Enter David Fifita, a club icon who knows what a great escape looks like.

The 33-year-old was part of the Trinity squad that stayed up on the final day in 2019 and helped Willie Poching's side avoid relegation against the odds last season before bowing out of Super League.

Fifita's legacy has long since been secure yet he rushed back in Wakefield's hour of need in a bid to help the club pull off the seemingly impossible.

Inspired by the popular forward on his Belle Vue homecoming, Trinity made sacrifices to a man to break their 2023 duck against Leeds Rhinos despite being without a dozen first-choice players and losing Huge Salabio to a red card early in the second half.

After leaving behind his family in Australia to join Trinity's fight for survival, Fifita was right in the thick of the celebrations as he sets about writing a magical final chapter of his Wakefield story.

"With how much the team was depleted and the belief in the squad, the feeling after the game was incredible," he told The Yorkshire Post.

"It was an awesome feeling but at the same time, the first thing you want to do is go and celebrate with your family so that made me a bit upset. That was the hardest thing.

"It wasn't like I could wake them up at 3am and say 'We've won! We've won!' It was a good phone call when I eventually made it."

Fifita played for Entrance Tigers in the Central Coast Division after leaving Super League at the end of last year but only had one run-out in six weeks before linking back up with Trinity.

The ‘Big Bopper’ has defied his lack of game time on his return to England, making 228 metres from 25 carries in two eventful outings.

"I'd just been eating KFC and enjoying footy back home," he joked.

"Rugby league is rugby league. Every time I get on that field, I play like I have from the under-six grade. If you feel like it's just work, it's not a good feeling.

"It doesn't matter what body shape I'm in. I don't think I've had the best-looking rig in my whole Super League career anyway!

"I embrace it, I enjoy it and put my body on the line for the boys."

On the receiving end of a punch that earned Ben Reynolds a red card at Magic Weekend before leading the way in a first win against Leeds, Fifita is certainly having an impact.

He is fuelled by a determination to avoid having a relegation on his CV.

"When I had a phone call with Mash (Applegarth), he told me he needed some leadership and an impact," said Fifita, who made 141 appearances during his first spell between 2016 and 2022.

"It was a hard chat with the wife. We looked at it both ways.

"I didn't want to be a part of a team that gets relegated. I left the club on a high and they were still in Super League but it was hurting me when I was at home.

"I didn't know what the answer was but when Mash asked me to come over, I thought I could help out. My wife said that if my heart was still there and I felt I could do something to just do it.

"I want to make sure I leave an imprint this season. I'm just here for the team. If I can get 10 per cent extra out of the other boys, I'll feel like I'm doing my job."

Wakefield have suffered since losing several influential figures at the end of last year, Fifita, Tinirau Arona and Jacob Miller chief among them.

Despite wholesale changes, Fifita has seen the club's trademark togetherness since returning.

"It's Wakefield so the team spirit is always high but we hadn't won a game so there was a bit of frustration around training," he said.

"We've got the chemistry back in the last few weeks. When I came back I said I'd been here through loads of highs and lows and it's how you pull through this.

"Sunday was a big example of what Wakefield are about and hanging in there."

Trinity have 12 games to wipe out a four-point deficit and catch local rivals Castleford Tigers, who still need to go to Belle Vue in August.

If Wakefield go on to complete the greatest of escapes, Fifita's sacrifice would have been worth it.

"That's the end goal," he said.

"I think my wife would be happy and they might even treat me to business class on the way home!

"I'd love to go home and tell them that we did it and the challenge was successful.

"If we do – and I believe we can get out of this – it would just leave a bigger legacy behind. I'm sure I'll leave a mark on this ground forever if we can do it."