Castleford routed by 12-man Wakefield
Tom Johnstone and Lachlan Walmsley scored doubles as 12-man Wakefield ran in nine tries to demolish shell-shocked West Yorkshire derby rivals Castleford 52-14.
The hosts looked to be in trouble at the DIY Kitchens Stadium when they trailed 10-6 after Matty Storton’s early dismissal, but they turned in a rampant display to clinch a sixth successive Super League win.
Wakefield were ahead inside 45 seconds of kick-off when Johnstone found space down the left and drew his man before slipping the ball inside to Storton to cross before Max Jowitt added the conversion.
Cas had to fight for their lives amid an early onslaught, but they were back in it with 16 minutes played when Tom Weaver pounced after a deflected grubber kick fell nicely into his path, the half-back converting his own try to make it 6-6.
The Tigers’ evening took a further turn for the better within six minutes when Storton was dismissed for a high tackle on Alex Mellor, and they swiftly made their numerical advantage count when winger Jason Qareqare blasted his way over in the left corner.
However, Trinity were back in front on the half-hour when replacement Caius Faatili forced his way over and Jowitt added the two points before himself darting over from dummy half and converting his own score to make it 18-10 at the break.
Wakefield extended their lead further within three minutes of the restart when Isaiah Vagana collected Jake Trueman’s lofted kick and exchanged passes with Cameron Scott before touching down, and Johnstone snatched a quick-fire double with Jowitt adding all three kicks to leave the score at 36-10.
Corey Hall muscled his way over the line and Walmsley added his name to the scoresheet after Vagana had tapped down Trueman’s up and under before doubling his tally after Qareqare had succumbed under another aerial assault from Truman, Jowitt taking his tally to 20 points before Qaraqare’s late consolation try.
Asked about his side’s end-of-season prospects, Wakefield head coach Daryl Powell told Sky Sports: “We just keep ticking along and doing our jobs, stay consistent – we’ve got a tough away trip at Catalans next week – just keep doing what we’re doing, don’t get too carried away.
“We’ve been saying that, but I think we should be excited as a team. We play some smart stuff and the boys are tuned in with each other. It’s a pleasure to play the game when you feel like that – I remember those times – and as a coach, you’ve got a team you can trust, which is awesome.”
Disappointed opposite number Ryan Carr said: “How we started the game is how we wanted to play the game, and then we didn’t touch the ball for the next 65 minutes pretty much after that through our own doing.
“Unfortunately, you can’t win if you don’t have the ball, and you won’t have the ball unless you want to make tackles. It’s a simple game.”
