It was a case of new coach, same result for Wakefield as they slipped to a 12th consecutive Super League defeat in their interim coach Stuart Dickens’ first game in charge.
In a game frighteningly low on quality and played out in front of just over 3,000 fans, the 30-18 defeat by Widnes Vikings means that the Wildcats are now seven points adrift at the foot of the table.
They look destined to be competing alongside Championship teams for a spot back in Super League later this year after another indifferent performance, though Dickens offered a firm response when asked if Wakefield can beat the drop.
“Without a doubt,” said the caretaker, who took charge after James Webster left the club on Tuesday. “There’s enough quality here and some of the things that have been questioned of us we showed in bucketloads today. Staying up is definitely an achievable goal.”
Dickens is yet to decide whether to throw his name for the vacancy but he will be in charge for next weekend’s Magic Weekend game against Castleford, with Wakefield likely to hold off on an appointment until after that game.
But with games running out fast and Wakefield looking a long way away from being a side who can even win a solitary game, they will have to turn things round rapidly, regardless of the identity of the new man.
As for Widnes, who lost their captain, Kevin Brown, to illness before the start, they moved into Super League’s top eight with this win, which was their first on the road all season. It scrappy, drab and ugly to watch but the two points may prove crucial at the end of the season for the Vikings.
“It’s a win but that’s all it is,” admitted their coach, Denis Betts, who also fumed at the playing surface at Belle Vue. “It was a poor, poor game. I’m just glad I didn’t have to pay to watch it. The pitch is a disgrace. We’ve got lads in there with rolled ankles and injuries. It’s bobbly. It’s got divots in. It’s just not Super League standard. It’s not a playing surface you should be playing Super League games on. But we were just poor today, and the lads know that.”
The writing was on the wall for Wakefield after five minutes when Rhys Hanbury scored the first of Widnes’s six tries; and their race was certainly run by the 25th minute, when they were 18-0 down. Tom Johnstone’s reply just before half-time offered no more than false hope.
Tries from Lloyd White and Stefan Marsh, adding to his two in the first half, made the result even more secure for the Vikings before a late rally from Wakefield showed that they at least have some fight left in them.
But tries from Matt Ryan and Dean Collis served only to add a touch of respectability to the scoreline. Whoever the new man may be in charge of Wakefield, it is becoming clearer by the day that he will be facing a monumental task to keep the club in Super League.
Wakefield Owen; Johnstone, Collis, Lyne, Riley; Miller, Smith; Scruton, McShane, Molloy, Ryan, Kirmond, Washbrook. Interchange Crowther, Godinet, Annakin, Anderson.
Tries Johnstone, Ryan, Collis. Goals Miller 3.
Widnes Hanbury; Owens, Marsh, Phelps, Ah Van; Heremaia, Mellor; Dudson, White, Gerrard, Clarkson, Galea, Isa.
Interchange Joseph, Leuluai, Manuokafoa, Whitley. Tries Hanbury, Marsh 3, Owens, White. Goals White 3.
Referee R Silverwood (Mirfield). Attendance 3,132
