Widnes were dealt a potentially fatal blow in their quest for engage Super
League survival after crashing to a humiliating home defeat against relegation
rivals Wakefield.
Widnes were simply woeful during the opening 40 minutes as Wakefield secured a
24-0 half-time advantage to all but claim the points before the interval
hooter.
The Wildcats purred with a hunger and desire which was lacking in the home
ranks and the quality of their display showed little semblance of a side
struggling at the wrong end of the table.
Winger Semi Tadulala notched a clinical hat-trick but it was former New
Zealand Test forward David Solomona who was the visitors' orchestrator-in-chief
as his side built on last weekend's stirring victory against Bradford to move
level with Salford on 16 points.
While Widnes improved markedly after the interval, they now lie five points
adrift of safety behind the Wildcats with only seven rounds of the regular
season remaining.
Frank Endacott saved Widnes from the drop last year but keeping them in Super
League this time around now looks an almost impossible task for the former New
Zealand Test coach.
Wakefield caretaker-coach Tony Smith retained the half-back partnership of Ben
Jeffries and Sam Obst following last week's victory against the Bulls.
And the latter wasted little time in repaying Smith's faith in him by striking
the opening blow after just four minutes.
Excellent go-forward by Wakefield's powerful pack culminated in Obst
collecting Colum Halpenny's perfectly-timed offload 20 metres out and he darted
through a gap in the home rearguard to score.
David March converted before Widnes enjoyed a spell of sustained pressure
during which Simon Finnigan and Andrew Emelio both came close to breaching the
Wildcats' line.
But Wakefield's defences held firm and Widnes saw prop John Stankevitch placed
on report for an apparent discrepancy as the penalty count reached double
figures with less than 20 minutes played.
The pendulum of attacking momentum swung towards the visitors as the interval
approached and Solomona extended his side's lead after 27 minutes, powering his
way over the line from dummy half.
March, who was earlier sin-binned for holding down, again added the extras
before Solomona superbly orchestrated his side's third try of the game after 32
minutes.
He seized possession just inside the Vikings' half before a delightful dummy
saw him surge forward and find Tadulala, who raced over the line in front of the
travelling fans.
Obst then took Jeffries' offload to race over the line unopposed and, with
March again converting, Wakefield's half-time lead looked unassailable at 24-0.
Tadulala's quickfire brace shortly after the restart - both fine finishes in
the left-hand corner - illustrated the gulf in class between the two sides.
And with March's impeccable kicking converting both tries from near the
touchline, Wakefield stormed 36-0 ahead.
Gray Viane did pull a try back for the hosts three minutes later, but Widnes
knew the points had long since been lost.
As tempers began to flare, a mass brawl kicked off between the two sets of
players which saw March sin-binned for the second time, and he was joined by
Michael Korkidas, Mark Smith and Stankevitch.
Viane then grabbed his second try, converted by Jules O'Neill, but Jeffries'
breakaway run handed Wakefield their eighth try before March's penalty extended
their lead further.
And although Sala Fa'alogo touched down for Widnes and Viane completed his
hat-trick, the Vikings were ultimately left to count the cost of their shambolic
first-half display.
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