MATCH DETAILS
Wakefield Trinity ran in 12 tries at the Mobile Rocket Stadium on Sunday afternoon as they subjected Hull FC to a 72-10 defeat and recorded their joint-best margin of victory in their Super League history.
The home side scored six tries in both halves as Tom Johnstone, David Fifita, Jacob Miller, Pauli Pauli, Reece Lyne and James Batchelor all scoring inside the first 40 minutes.
The second half was much of the same as Max Jowitt got in on the act, Ben Jones-Bishop scoring two of his own with Miller, Lyne and Pauli Pauli crossing for their own braces on the day.
Liam Harris and Bureto Faraimo scored consolation tries on a day that was one to well and truly forget for Hull FC.
The damage for Hull started early as Tom Johnstone opened the scoring with an easy finish after good work from Max Jowitt.
David Fifita was next to cross the whitewash breaking the line after some poor attempts to tackle from the Hull defenders to race away.
Scores from Jacob Miller, who showed quick feet, Pauli Pauli, who grounded the ball with three men around him and Reece Lyne, who easily beat his opposite number, quickly followed.
The scoring for the first half wasn’t complete yet however, as the first set from Lyne’s try saw the centre break down field before passing to James Batchelor to touch down.
It seemingly couldn’t get worse for the away side, but Ben Jones-Bishop ensured it did after he found himself in open space to score just four minutes into the second half.
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Then came arguably the try of the game as Tinirau Arona popped off a nice inside ball to Ryan Hampshire, who broke the line and passed to Jowittm who finished well to complete a lovely move from Trinity.
Miller got his second after Hull inexplicably lost possession, allowing the Australian to kick the loose ball ahead, regather, and touch down.
Lyne, Jones-Bishop and Pauli Pauli all got their second tries of the afternoon to complete the scoring for Wakefield but Hull tried to restore some pride in the performance with two scores of their own.
Liam Harris threw a dummy to dive over and and Bureto Faraimo went over in the corner but they were nothing more than consolation tries on what was a humiliating day for the black and white’s.
Wakefield’s win means they are safe in the Top 8’s and condemn rivals Leeds Rhinos to a spot in the Qualifiers. Hull stay fifth in the table but Wakefield, Huddersfield and Catalan are all one point behind.
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
Wakey in the Top 8
Today’s win eased any fears from the Wakefield faithful that they may have to compete in the Qualifiers.
The empathic win has not only put Trinity into a confirmed Top 8 spot, but it closed the gap on those above and they will be looking for a strong finish towards the end of the year. Based on today’s showing, they’d be good value for a top five finish.
Radford will be seething
This was undoubtedly the worst performance of the season for Hull FC so far. There was much optimism when Lee Radford was able to bring back several first-team stars from injury, but that was quickly extinguished by a slick and sophisticated Wakefield outfit.
If Hull FC want to finish in the top four, this kind of display has to be an anomaly. Anything other than that and Radford will be forced to re-assess which of his players are capable of mounting a push for silverware- many of the squad will be taking a hard look at themselves after today’s performance.
Man Of The Match – Jacob Miller (Wakefield Trinity)
The former Hull FC well and truly came back to haunt his old side this afternoon as he was everywhere for Wakefield and was a large part of why the home side recorded 72 points.
Miller has become such an influential figure for the club, pound for pound maybe the most important player for any club in the league, and its easy to see why.
He has gained a voice at Wakefield and is no longer just a running half-back. He’s dictating the plays, executing the plays and more often than not, finishing off the plays with a try, as he did twice today.
THE RESULT
Wakefield Trinity 72
Tries: Johnstone, Fifita, Miller (2), Pauli Pauli (2), Lyne (2), Batchelor, Jones-Bishop (2), Jowitt
Goals: Hampshire (12)
Drop Goals: n/a
Hull FC
Tries: Harris, Faraimo
Goals: Faraimo
Drop Goals: n/a
SQUADS
Wakefield Trinity: Jowitt, Jones-Bishop, Lyne, Tupou, Johnstone, Miller, Hampshire, Hirst, Randall, Fifita, Ashurst, Batchelor, Horo.
Interchanges: Wood, Pauli Pauli, Huby, Arona.
Hull FC: Shaul, Faraimo, Logan, Tuimavave, Talanoa, Abdull, Sneyd, Matongo, Houghton, Taylor, Hadley, Turget, Westerman.
Interchanges: Paea, Downs, Fash, Harris.
Referee: Ben Thaler
