WAKEFIELD TRINITY 44 CATALANS DRAGONS 6
STEVE BRADY, DIY Kitchens Stadium, Saturday
WAKEFIELD’S impressive surge in the second half of the Super League season continued with a devastating dismissal of the Dragons, ending a 14-match losing run against Catalans and adding extra spice to the race for the play-offs.
Coach Daryl Powell remained steadfast and confident when his promoted side struggled to find a win in the early rounds but the results are coming now, and with some serious new signings (including Samoan giant Jazz Tevaga) announced for next year there is a feelgood factor at Belle Vue.
A bumper crowd of 8,625 (the club’s biggest home gate since 2013) roared Trinity to victory and saw the side move up to sixth with a sizzling stint in the West Yorkshire sunshine.
The Dragons made only one change to their starting line-up from last week’s win over Huddersfield, Tevita Satae returning from suspension to strengthen the pack.
Wakefield were boosted by the return of captain Mike McMeeken and Caleb Hamlin-Uele although they were missing Jake Trueman (HIA protocols) and Ellis Lingard.
The home team hit the straps from the opening set with Corey Hall slipping an attempted tackle by Clément Martin and releasing Max Jowitt for an unhindered charge over the line, converting his try for 6-0 in the third minute.
A ten-minute stalemate of resistance from the Dragons was broken when Mason Lino dummied and passed to winger Lachlan Walmsley on the left, who finished with the approval of the video referee.
Lino then launched a towering bomb to the same corner on the next set and fullback Josh Rourke climbed in the air to beat his opposite number Sam Tomkins and score.
Walmsley then doubled his try tally with another great pass from Hall through Rourke to the winger, and things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Léo Darrelatour failed to clear a loose ball over his own line and Josh Griffin pounced to score.
Tomkins was sin-binned for a professional foul (tackling off the ball) in the dying moments of the first half and Jowitt kicked the penalty to make it 28-0 at the interval.
Rourke continued the romp straight from the restart as Catalans continued to crumble defensively in front of their own posts, striding over without a hand upon him to extend the lead.
Catalans got off the mark finally when Luke Keary launched a towering kick and Tevita Pangai Jr collected and tumbled over the line to score.
It was a temporary hiccup for Trin as they resumed the scoring in the 59th minute with Lino romping between the posts after passing and collecting the return from Thomas Doyle.
Tomkins lost his cool in the closing stages, running a verbal battle with referee Tom Grant, and both teams clashed with a melee of pushing and shoving.
The game descended into a scruffy squabble with errors from both sides and protracted captain’s challenges stretching the clock but Tom Johnstone tidied things up when he beat Nick Cotric to a high kick to score in the right corner.
Wakefield can deservedly join Leigh now as the unfancied play-off party-poopers, whereas the impossible dream for Catalans is definitely over. How long the current nightmare continues is the real question for the dismal Dracs.
GAMESTAR: Max Jowitt switched to the halves for this game and he had a hand on everything good Wakefield did.
GAMEBREAKER: Josh Griffin’s pounce on a loose ball to score before half-time effectively ended the contest at 26-0.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: Wakefield fullback Josh Rourke showed youth and height advantage when he leapt to collect and score, taking the ball from Sam Tomkins’ grasp in the 18th minute.
ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Max Jowitt (Wakefield)
2 pts Josh Rourke (Wakefield)
1 pt Mason Lino (Wakefield)
MATCHFACTS
TRINITY
23 Josh Rourke
2 Lachlan Walmsley
4 Corey Hall
3 Cameron Scott
5 Tom Johnstone
1 Max Jowitt
20 Mason Lino
8 Mike McMeeken
28 Harvey Smith
15 Caleb Hamlin-Uele
12 Josh Griffin
18 Isaiah Vagana
13 Jay Pitts
Subs (all used)
9 Liam Hood
14 Thomas Doyle
25 Jack Croft
31 Caius Faatili
18th man (not used)
11 Seth Nikotemo
Also in 21-man squad
19 Oliver Pratt
30 Jayden Myers
33 Noah High
Tries: Jowitt (3), Walmsley (14, 22), Rourke (18, 41), Griffin (34), Lino (59), Johnstone (76)
Goals: Jowitt 6/9
DRAGONS
1 Sam Tomkins
2 Tommy Makinson
28 Clément Martin
29 Léo Darrelatour
5 Nick Cotric
6 Luke Keary
18 César Rougé
16 Romain Navarrete
14 Alrix Da Costa
24 Franck Maria
17 Bayley Sironen
19 Paul Séguier
13 Oliver Partington
Subs (all used)
8 Tevita Pangai Jr
10 Julian Bousquet
15 Tevita Satae
31 Denive Balmforth
18th man (not used)
26 Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet
Also in 20-man squad
20 Jordan Dezaria
22 Fouad Yaha
Tries: Pangai Jr (45)
Goals: Makinson 1/1
Sin bin: Tomkins (40) – professional foul
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 10-0, 14-0, 20-0, 26-0, 28-0; 34-0, 34-6, 40-6, 44-6
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Trinity: Max Jowitt; Dragons: Luke Keary
Penalty count: 6-8
Half-time: 28-0
Referee: Tom Grant
Attendance: 8,625