Super League: Wakefield Trinity 10-48 Wigan Warriors

Betfred Super League

Wakefield (6) 10

Try: Stourton, Johnstone Aim: jovit

Wigan (20) 48

Try: Farrell 2, Hodkinson 4, Partington, Wardle, Eckersley Aim: Keighron 6

Noah Hodgkinson continued his red-hot form with four tries as Wigan Warriors beat Wakefield Trinity 48-10 to move up to fourth in the Super League table.

The 20-year-old winger scored nine tries in six games with a standout display for Matt Peat on a night when everything went well.

Apart from Hodkinson’s stunning finish, Wigan were at their unstoppable best all over the field and Jay Field, Brad O’Neill, Adam Keighran, Junior Nsemba and Jack Farrimond impressed.

As well as Hodkinson’s second hat-trick of the season, there were tries for Ollie Partington, Jack Wardle and Jack Eckersley and six conversions from nine for Keighran.

There was a 150th try in Wigan colors for Liam Farrell, who went on to score twice, and there was another 25-minute cameo for Bevan French as he eased back from three months out injured.

Just two weeks after Wigan beat Hull KR in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley, here was another display for the rest of Super League to watch closely.

As the season reaches the halfway mark, no team is in hotter form than the Cherries and Whites.

They registered the win against a team unbeaten in five at home, sitting third ahead of kick-off and fresh from a win over Hull KR last weekend.

Trinity coach Darryl Powell can point to the fact that they are missing key players including Mason Lino (calf) and Corey Hall (shoulder), both of whom could be out for up to six weeks, and the suspended Jaz Tevaga.

Nevertheless, his previous form side had no answers to the visitors’ questions and they dropped to fifth place after their fifth league defeat of the season.

If the more youthful Hodgkinson took the honours, it was the experienced Farrell who got the ball rolling as he finished off a brilliant move from the visitors five minutes into the match with Eckersley and Keighran combining to keep the ball alive against the sideline.

It was the 150th try for Farrell in his 426th appearance.

Wakefield responded early when Matty Stourton crossed his path from five meters out, but from then until Tom Johnstone’s consolation try on 15 minutes, it was one-way traffic.

Hodkinson’s four were followed by tries from Partington, Wardle and Eckersley, while Farrell added three more minutes from time to ensure Wigan finished on the front foot.

Wakefield Trinity coach Daryl Powell told BBC Radio Leeds:

“Wigan were great from start to finish. It was very slow from us and a really poor performance. We have to learn our lessons and move on.

“They absolutely dominated the game and they’ve been playing like that for a couple of weeks now. They continued in that vein and we didn’t do much to stop it.

“We were beaten in every aspect of the game. We have to move on, but I will tell the players what I have to say in the week. I am not going to reveal it.

“But we have to learn some hard lessons from what Wigan did to us today.

“We got beaten by a team who are red hot at the moment. Teams are fighting them. They all played well everywhere and when things were going well they brought Bevan French off the bench.”

Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peat said:

“It was important that we laid the foundations and then we were able to express ourselves more or less.

“In games like this, if you don’t get off to the right start and the crowd are ready for it, it could be a different night. Some of our tries looked nice and flashy but it was made to put those things right.

“With Bevan French it’s about backing him up and getting him into the team at the right time, but it’s important that we also want to utilize the rest of our squad.

“But it probably added a layer to what it did a few weeks ago.”

Wakefield: Jovit; Johnstone, Nicotemo, Scott, Myers; Truman, Seinfeld; McMicken, Smoothie, Rodwell, Stourton, Vagana, Pitts.

exchange: Hamlin-Welsh, Fatili, Lolesio, Tate.

Wigan: field; Eckersley, Keighran, Wardle, Hodgkinson; Farimond, Smith; Havard, O’Neill, Thompson, Nsemba, Farrell, Partington.

exchange: French, Ellis, Mago, Esseh.

Referee: Marcus Griffiths.