Super League: Wakefield 24-14 Leeds - Bottom club chalk up first win
- Published
Sam Hewitt celebrates Wakefield's first win of the Super League season
Betfred Super League |
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Wakefield (10) 24 |
Tries: Croft, Franco, Ashurst, Smith Goals: Dagger 4 |
Leeds (10) 14 |
Tries: Smith, Ruan, Austin Goals: Martin |
Wakefield chalked up their first win of the Super League season in the West Yorkshire derby against Leeds.
Trinity had lost their first 14 games, scoring just 15 tries, but inflicted Rhinos' fourth consecutive defeat despite having Hugo Salabio sent off.
The league's bottom club led 10-0 with Jack Croft and Romain Franco tries, only for Leeds to level by half-time.
But after Ash Handley was sin-binned Trinity pulled clear as Matty Ashurst and Morgan Smith added further scores.
Despite their poor recent form, the Rhinos were favourites to prevail against a Wakefield side that had not won a league game since they surprised St Helens in August of last year.
In hot conditions at Belle Vue, Trinity began strongly as winger Lee Kershaw patted down a Will Dagger kick and Croft burrowed over before triallist French winger Franco marked his debut with their second try.
The 10-point lead was wiped out in short order by Rhinos as Richie Myler sent Cameron Smith in and 20-year-old prop Leon Ruan powered over from another Myler pass.
The dismissal of Salabio just five minutes into the second half seemed to have turned the match in Leeds' favour but after Blake Austin had kicked out on the full from a goal-line drop-out, Dagger restored the home side's lead.
Austin made amends for his sloppiness, exploiting a big gap in the Trinity defence to stride over and put Leeds ahead for the first time.
Dagger again hauled Trinity level with a penalty and when Handley was sin-binned for obstruction, Mark Applegarth's side took full advantage of numerical equality.
Leading scorer Ashurst span over for his fourth of the season and Smith capitalised on Myler's error under a high kick, and with Dagger adding the second conversion, Wakefield were home and dry.
Wakefield coach Mark Applegarth told BBC Radio Leeds:
"I'm just really chuffed. People have probably been questioning the team spirit behind the scenes, and they have answered quite a few questions today.
"The lads who went out on that field stood up for one another. When we went down to 12 men it would have been quite easy for them to roll over and think 'Here we go again'.
"I knew the young lads I had in the academy, what their temperament and character was like, as obviously I've worked with them for a good six years, and the two French lads who came on trial, I knew we'd get a lot of enthusiasm out of them.
"Hopefully we can kick on and start putting pressure on the teams around us."
Leeds coach Rohan Smith told BBC Radio Leeds:
"Huge disappointment. We let ourselves down against a very spirited team that dug deep and have competed hard all year.
"We let ourselves down in that first half. Not executing opportunities was the issue this week. It's not always the same thing or the same person, so we have to keep chasing the answers.
"The extra man doesn't always mean extra anything, we just didn't play well enough collectively and individually.
"I feel low after every poor performance. Losses never leave a coach. There's a lot of hurt in the dressing room."
Wakefield: Jowitt; Kershaw, Croft, Kay, Franco; Dagger, Smith; Proctor, Bowes, Battye, Hewitt, Ashurst, Pitts
Interchanges: Law, Eseh, Salabio, Fifita (Shaw)
Leeds: Handley; MacDonald, Roberts, Martin, Tindall; Austin, Myler; Oledzki, O'Connor, Walters, McDonnell, Bentley, Smith
Interchanges: Johnson, Donaldson, Ruan, Sangare (Olpherts)
Referee: Aaron Moore