Wakefield 23-36 Warrington: Wolves victorious over Trinity
Last Updated: 29/09/18 1:15am
Warrington will head into their elimination semi-final against St Helens on the back of a morale-boosting 36-23 victory over Wakefield at the Mobile Rocket Stadium.
Wolves were made to work hard by a committed Trinity side who were seeking to confirm a fifth-place finish in Super League for the second year running.
But a four-try second-half haul was enough for Steve Price's men to notch the 13-point win. Declan Patton kicked a perfect six from six goals and grabbed a try to see the visitors home.
Tyler Randell got Trinity on the board when he broke through some weak defence after just three minutes to score.
Ryan Hampshire added the extras to put them 6-0 in front, but Warrington hit back 14 minutes later through Ben Murdoch-Masila.
The Tonga international steamrolled Pauli Pauli and then routed Max Jowitt to score under the posts. Patton's conversion tied it up at 6-6.
However, that was short-lived as Joe Arundel crossed to give the home team back the lead. Jacob Miller's cut-out pass put the centre over and Hampshire converted from the sideline.
Bill Tupou should have had Trinity's third try but knocked on with the line begging, after Hampshire's bomb was tapped back.
Four minutes before half-time and Arundel was forced off after being on the end of a suspected crusher tackle. And with 39 seconds left in the half, Hampshire slotted a drop goal to make it 13-6.
But in a crazy end to the first period, the Wolves then won the ball back from the short kick-off and made Trinity pay.
Josh Charnley broke down the right flank, grubber-kicked in-field and Toby King was on the spot to score. Patton converted to vitally keep the visitors in the fight at 13-12.
In the second half only strong defence from Reece Lyne prevented Ryan Atkins from scoring in the corner.
But Warrington would not be stopped and they edged ahead thanks to the smarts of Stefan Ratchford. The full-back regathered his own kick to score, which Patton added the extras.
Momentum was shifting and five minutes later the Wolves extended their lead when Jack Hughes scarpered over. Patton's kick rebounded perfectly into the back-rower's hands to make it 24-13.
Wakefield fought valiantly to get back into the contest. A piece of solo magic from Hampshire cut the deficit to just five points.
In the 57th minute the half-back dummied and darted across the visitors' defensive line before sneaking through to score. Then Patton responded in quick fashion with a try of his own to settle the Wolves' nerves.
Trinity would not give up and winger Ben Jones-Bishop was the next to get on the scoresheet out wide.
But. Warrington had the last say with Atkins intercepting the ball to stroll over for a final four-pointer and the nail in the coffin.
