Wakefield dominated the game after just 5 minutes and never relented, despite Salford’s attempts to push back, ending the match 72-10 in front of a 6277 strong crowd.
Though the Reds managed to cross twice and almost made it on multiple other attempts, the main story of the match was unfortunately Wakefield’s seemingly endless tries, having reached 13 by the end of the game.
A balanced start to the match soon came to an end with a Wakefield scrum which almost got the home team over the line. They weren’t held back long though as a line break pushed them back into Salford’s half and Walmsley was able to cross in the right corner.
It was back to back tries for Trinity as McMeekan found a gap in Salford’s line and managed to dive over next to the sticks, adding 6 to the scoreboard with Jowitt’s conversion.
An offload to Faatili and a pass to Jowitt earned Wakefield their third try in 15 minutes with Jowitt converting his own try.
Following a fumble by Salford hands, Wakefield picked up the ball and there it wide for Walmsley to ground his second of the game, again in the corner.
Unfortunately for Salford, it soon reached 26-0 as Faatili got Wakefield’s fifth try of the game.
The Reds began to push back after a Nathan Connell showed a footwork masterclass, dodging 5 tackles and making valuable metres before finally being tackled. Though they got to Wakefield’s line, they couldn’t make that final push to cross it.
To end the first half, Trinity scored their 6th try from Lino busting through a tackle and running the line.
Half time seemed to give the Reds a renewed energy as they fought to Trinity’s line on the first set. Finally, Salford came away with some joy as Jonny Vaughan crossed the whitewash to give them their first try of the game.
Wakefield fumbled in catching the ball, giving Salford a second set. Again, Salford got to the try line but unfortunately were unable to push over this time.
Wakefield then continued their scoring streak with 3 tries in the first 15 minutes of the second half. First with Scott jumping over the line and then by Rouse running into the corner. The third followed Myers’ line break and sprint downfield before he passed to Nikotema for the try.
Luckily, the Trin’s next attempt was unsuccessful as Lino threw a high pass to Myers. It looked hopeful as he dove for the line but he lost the ball in the tackle, just short of the line.
Sadly, they were then able to make it 10 tries as Lingard, on his Super League debut, crossed the whitewash after bypassing the Salford Line.
The Reds refused to give up though. Off the back of the scrum, the Reds battled downfield and Macdonald was able to get his name on the scoresheet on his 200th Super League appearance after pushing through the tackle to ground the ball.
Wakefield soon hit 66 points as Pitts managed to ground the ball, Faatili scored his second of the night and Jowitt converted for the 9th time.
It once again looked hopeful for Salford as Macdonald ran into Wakefield’s half and offloaded to Stone. However, the set ended without reward as the ball bounced out of Brierley’s hands before he could reach the line.
To end the game, Wakefield scored their 13th try as debut, Lingard, grounded the ball for a second time.
MATCH FACTS:
Salford XIII: Nene Macdonald, Nathan Connell, Esan Marsters, Jonny Vaughan, Chris Hankinson, Ryan Brierley (C), Kai Morgan, Jack Ormondroyd, Sam Davis, Harvey Makin, Toby Warren, Sam Stone, Joe Shorrocks
Interchanges: Matty Foster, Justin Sangare, Harvey Wilson, Tiaki Chan
Tries: Vaughan, Macdonald
Conversions: Brierley (1/1)
Wakefield Trinity XIII: Josh Rouse, Lachlan Walmsley, Corey Hall, Cameron Scott, Tom Johnstone, Max Jowitt, Mason Lino, Mike McMeekan, Harvey Smith, Caius Faatili, Jack Croft, Seth Nikotemo, Jay Pitts
Interchanges: Isiah Vagana, Mathieu Cozza, Jayden Myers, Ellis Lingard
Tries: Walmsley (2), McMeekan, Jowitt, Faatili (2), Lino, Scott, Rouse, Nikotemo, Lingard (2), Pitts
Conversions: Jowitt (10/13)
HT: 30-0
FT: 72-10
