Super League: Jonny Lomax the star as St Helens thrash Wakefield
St Helens thrashed Wakefield 52-18 at Langtree Park to register their first home win of the Super League campaign.
Last Updated: 16/03/13 6:46am
Lomax ran in a hat-trick of tries and kicked eight goals as Saints overwhelmed their visitors in a dominant display.
Jordan Turner crossed the line twice while Alex Walmsley, Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Tommy Makinson and Lance Hohaia also got their names on the scoresheet.
But the hosts did not enjoy the best of starts as their defence was breached on two minutes, Dean Collis breaking down the right and slipping the ball inside for Richie Mathers to score.
Saints levelled the scores shortly afterwards as Walmsley crossed for his maiden Super League try and with Wakefield still regrouping, Lomax caught them out with some nimble footwork before finishing things off himself.
But the Wildcats hit back when Kyle Wood put in a well-weighted kick for Ben Cockayne's eighth try of the season and Paul Sykes converted for a second time.
The home side continued to come forward and a grubber kick from James Roby, who would later go off injured, allowed Turner to touch down after a botched clearance from Peter Fox, before Meli offloaded to Turner to make it 22-12 at half-time.
More Saints pressure yielded a fifth try soon after the restart as Wilkin sent McCarthy-Scarsbrook over, but Wakefield would not lie down and Collis found his way through to touch down shortly after a period in which the Yorkshire side enjoyed six successive sets.
But Lomax soon took charge, linking well with Wilkin just after the hour mark and wrong-footing Wakefield with a dummy before scampering over by the posts.
His treble was to be completed just moments later as he took a pass at close range from Willie Manu and crashed over.
By now there was no hope of a Wakefield comeback, their resistance crumbling as Sia Soliola and Makinson charged away down the right for another, with Hohaia bringing up the 50 late on.