Wakefield Trinity show no mercy in big Championship win over rock-bottom Dewsbury Rams

Trin ran in four tries in the first half through Max Jowitt, Harvey Smith, Ky Rodwell and Derrell Olpherts after the Rams had taken a shocking early lead thanks to Perry Whiteley.

A further four tries followed in the second half as Jowitt completed his hat-trick to help Wakey restore their seven-point lead at the top of the table following Toulouse’s win at Swinton Lions yesterday.

The French side had beaten both Wakefield and Dewsbury in rounds 16 and 17, respectively.

And successive Championship fixtures don’t get much tougher from a Rams perspective. This Round 18 game with their illustrious West Yorkshire neighbours, who they hadn’t entertained in a league game since 1998, was a “free hit” according to head coach Paul March before kick off.

And, despite the news in midweek that skipper Jimmy Beckett had left the club to join Featherstone Rovers, David certainly came out swinging against Goliath with Whiteley diving over in the corner after being released by Bailey O’Connor.

Normal service, however, was resumed barely four minutes later as Jowitt, one of three former Rams players who received their heritage number certificates after the game, dummied, twisted and turned over the line.

And when they went in front after a quarter of an hour when Smith touched down, the likelihood of a shock evaporated in an instant.

Smith was one of four changes to the 17 which thrashed Fev last Sunday as Daryl Powell could afford to rest Jermaine McGillvary, Luke Gale, who announced his retirement at the start of the week, and captain Matty Ashurst, who was on the trysheet the last time Trin visited here for a competitive fixture in 2017 - a 54-6 win in the Challenge Cup. Caleb Uele was an enforced change.

The Rams weren’t helped as, just before Smith’s try, Elliot Morris, one of two changes March made from the defeat in France, was sent to the sin bin. And the visitors were able to celebrate another try against 12 men as the powerful Rodwell, who also came into the side, strode through the Dewsbury defence for an 18-6 lead.

That lead was extended to 22-6 by the half-time hooter courtesy of the in-form Olpherts, another ex-Dewsbury player, who dived over for his 13th try in eight games.

The Rams regrouped at the interval and, just like they did in the first half, caught Wakefield cold with an early try through debutant Zeus Silk. Silk moved in the opposite direction to Beckett earlier in the week.

That got Dewsbury back to within 12 points. Last week, when Wakefield hosted Featherstone, Rovers had got back to within six points at the start of the second half before Trin’s full-time prowess got them over the line comfortably.

And the same happened again at FLAIR Stadium as three tries in nine second half minutes put Powell’s men back into the ascendancy.

Jowitt grabbed his second straight from a scrum before Pratt, who scored a try-of-the-season contender in the victory over Fev, scored one of the easiest of his young, burgeoning career, picking up a loose ball from a Rams mistake and running unopposed over the line.

Toby Boothroyd found a massive gap to make it 38-12 before Jowitt completed his hat-trick to the delight of the masses of travelling Wakey fans.

There was still time for Lewis Carr to score a consolation for Dewsbury, who, far from disgraced against the leaders, will now be looking at a trio of games against sides in the bottom seven as they strive to instigate a miraculous great escape from relegation.

Dewsbury: O’Connor, Carr, Graham, M Walker, Whiteley, Turner, Hookem, Morris, Butterworth, J Walker, Summers, Dawson, Collinson

Interchanges: Dixon, Briggs, Silk

Tries: Whiteley, Silk, Carr

Conversions: Turner (2)

Wakefield: Booth, Walmsley, Croft, Pratt, Olpherts, Jowitt, Hood, Bowden, Smith, Bain, Boothroyd, Griffin, Doyle

Interchanges: Pitts, Kay, Rodwell, Shaw

Tries: Jowitt (3), Smith, Rodwell, Olpherts, Pratt, Boothroyd

Conversions: Jowitt (5)