Ben Westwood was sent off as Warrington missed the chance to go second in the engage Super League on a bleak day at Wakefield.

The second row was given his marching orders as snow and sleet fell in the second half, effectively ending the Wolves' hopes of battling back into a scrappy Belle Vue contest.

Tries from Scott Grix and Sam Obst, added to four Danny Brough goals, had already given the injury-ravaged Wildcats a healthy advantage and they held out thereafter with little problem.

The match rarely came to life, with referee Ashley Klein whistling for 24 penalties and issuing three yellow cards - one to Westwood - before the Warrington forward's red.

Wakefield ground out their advantage in a first half littered by stoppages and which ended with three players in the sin-bin.

Play was stopped for penalties three times within the opening three minutes and Warrington drew first blood when Chris Hicks slotted the third of them between the posts.

Brough levelled with a penalty of his own and was then involved in the move which saw Danny Sculthorpe put Scott Grix over in the corner for the opening try with a long pass.

Brough failed to convert from out wide but pushed the Wildcats further ahead with, inevitably, two more penalties.

The final 20 minutes of the first half were scrappy and disjointed, with players and fans seemingly all frustrated by Klein's frequent interruptions.

Wakefield, who had much the better of early proceedings, threatened to go further ahead but Kevin Henderson had a try ruled out for obstruction after going over from a Brough pass.

Westwood was the first sent to the sin-bin, after persistent infringements, after 31 minutes and he was followed by Wakefield pair Tony Martin and Jamie Rooney before the interval.

Rooney's offence was the more obvious of the Wildcats' two, the stand-off having held down flying Wolves centre Matt King after a break by Kevin Penny down the left wing.

The Wolves pressed from the resulting restart but Paul Johnson knocked on close to the line.

Wakefield carried their dominance into the second half and were rewarded when Obst finished off a slick move involving Duncan MacGillivray and the restored Rooney under the posts.

Brough added the extras to extend the Wildcats advantage to their eventual winning margin as the snow began to fall heavily.

The host's task grew all the harder just after the hour as Westwood's return to the field was cut short by Klein for a high tackle. That also came soon after Wolves substitute Steve Pickersgill was carried off the field injured.

Wakefield's only moment of alarm after that came as Warrington pieced together a slick move up the middle but Penny spilled the slippy ball with the line at his mercy.