Jack Sinfield is convinced Wakefield Trinity is the right place for him to take the next step in his career after making the difficult decision to leave Leeds Rhinos.
Sinfield, a name synonymous with Leeds due to his father Kevin’s heroics, had been with Leeds since he was a schoolboy, joining the club at the age of 15 and working his way through the academy ranks at Headingley.
A debut came in April 2022 and the now 21-year-old went on to make a total of 29 appearances in the blue and amber of Leeds. However, while he did make 14 appearances last season, only five came as a starting half-back, with Sinfield coming to the realisation that he needed to be playing more in his favoured position in order to maximise his growth and potential.
And, that’s a notion the Rhinos accepted as the West Yorkshire outfit agreed to cancel the final 12 months of his deal to facilitate a move to Wakefield.
Of course, he now has Jake Trueman and Mason Lino as competition, but Sinfield believes moving across West Yorkshire was exactly what he needed at this point in his career.
Jack Sinfield explains Leeds Rhinos exit
“I think it was about the same time the season ended for us at Leeds,” Sinfield told Serious About RL about when he first caught wind of the Wakefield Trinity interest. “Everything the club spoke about was really exciting for me and something I really wanted to be a part of. I jumped at the opportunity.
“I think it was a big decision but any sort of decision where you change clubs is a big decision. I’d been at Leeds since I was 15 and it’s really all I knew. I think it’s really good for me to step out of my comfort zone and start somewhere fresh.
“I wouldn’t say there was a particular moment, but in general I realised that I needed to be playing more, especially at my age while I’m still developing. That’s what I needed.
“Leeds were great to be honest, they said they wanted to be fair with me and if that’s what I wanted to. They understood that I probably need to play more than I was doing at my age and there’s two great players there in Jake [Connor] and Brodie [Croft]. They were great with me, really fair.”
Speaking earlier this week, Sinfield hadn’t had the opportunity to sit down properly with his new head coach Daryl Powell yet, but it’s a fair to say he is a man he already knows plenty about.
“He used to coach my dad so I’ve heard a lot about him already,” Sinfield added. “I’m excited to work with him and obviously he’s really experienced so hopefully I’ll learn a lot from him.”
On what Powell wants from him , he added: “I think there’s a few great half-backs here already so it’s about earning your spot in the team and that’s the main thing really, making sure I cement that spot and earn that spot and then see where it goes really.
“There’s a lot of people here in a similar position to me, Harvey Smith and people like that, young lads who have a bright future. It’s exciting to be a part of that younger group.”
