James Lowes' position as coach of Warrington is set to come under further scrutiny after his side were ruthlessly dismissed by a rampant Wakefield at Belle Vue.

Lowes' expensively-assembled squad have now lost their last eight games, stretching back to last season when they failed to make the play-offs, and it remains to be seen how much more time club owner Simon Moran is prepared to give the ex-Bradford hooker to turn things around.

His opposite number John Kear has no such worries after a third win in four games saw his side move joint-top in the embryonic table.

After a turbulent winter, which included the death of Adam Watene and the near-death of Jamie Rooney, the league's oldest coach has once again revelled in the role of the underdog, inspiring his unfancied and injury-hit side to a stunning eight-try win here, which came on the back of a comprehensive first-half showing.

Despite losing Scott Grix to injury after last weekend's win over Salford, Kear was able to welcome Sam Obst back as a direct replacement and the scrum-half went closest to opening the scoring early on when he was held close to the line.

It did not take long for the deadlock to be broken, though, with Matt Blaymire getting on the end of an eighth-minute Tony Martin kick to ground after Warrington had been forced to drop-out from under their own posts twice.

The same pair combined four minutes later for Blaymire's second of the season, with Martin's neat reverse pass sending the full-back in.

Warrington were offering little resistance and it was soon 18-0 when Dale Ferguson made light work of Lee Briers' attempted tackle to make the best of Brad Drew's pass.

The one-way traffic continued, with on-loan winger Dave Halley soon adding a fourth score after another error from Chris Riley.

The full-back endured a torrid game in Warrington's 40-20 defeat at home by Catalans Dragons last weekend and, after he made a hash of fielding Martin's kick, Halley, after some neat hands, made him pay by strolling over the line.

Two quick tries from Louis Anderson, one off a fine Michael Monaghan pass, then looked to have revived Warrington, with the second converted by Chris Hicks - the 33rd successive game in which he has scored.

But Halley was on hand just before the interval, racing the length of the field after a Riley knock-on to extend Wakefield's lead to 20 points at 30-10.

Warrington started the second half well and Chris Bridge was twice denied by some strong goal-line defence, which ultimately provided the springboard for their sixth try.

Ferguson was the scorer with 30 minutes left, becoming the third Wakefield player to register a brace, with the forward taking in Drew's pass before cantering over from close range.

The try brought up a century of points conceded by Warrington this season, with Martin's sixth successful kick opening up a 26-point lead.

Warrington were not quite done, though, with Hicks coming in off his wing to overpower two would-be tacklers and score his side's third try, as well as a touchline conversion.

A brief period of Warrington dominance then ensued but that was soon aborted by an outstanding tackle from Damien Blanche on Riley and then, with 12 minutes remaining, if there had been any doubt, Blaymire put the game to bed with his third try after Drew's kick came loose in a melee close to the line.

Bridge then got his try after a neat break from Riley but it was soon cancelled out by Luke George, who marked his return from a year out injured with a well-worked score.