Caius Faatili inspires Wakefield Trinity to rousing Magic Weekend finale over Castleford Tigers

Faatili's late charge from deep inside his own half was the pick of six Trinity tries that made a mockery of head coach Daryl Powell's pre-match assertion that the in-form Tigers would take all the beating.

Faatili's effort added to his first-half opener and was matched by an acrobatic brace by winger Lachlan Walmsley as Wakefield marked a spectacular return to form following last week's tiring defeat to Catalans Dragons in France.

For Castleford head coach Danny McGuire it was an all too familiar tale of errors and inconsistency as his side failed to build on a big win at Huddersfield that had been a cause for cautious optimism in the build-up to the Newcastle jamboree.

Wakefield had forced the issue from the start, Innes Senior scooped up a menacing grubber kick from Mason Lino as Powell's men searched for the opening score, and they had another great opportunity when Oliver Pratt weaved through the Castleford defence on the left wing, but his offload was intercepted.

Trinity continued to find success on the left and Max Jowitt squeezed through a gap before cutting in to ground just by the posts before the full-back converted his own effort.

Castleford struggled to leave their own half and were punished again when skipper Mike McMeeken picked up the loose ball and charged through the static Tigers defence, where a quick move reached Faatili who dived between the posts.

The try was upheld following a video referral and Jowitt added the extras.

Trinity nearly had another but some last-gasp defending in the corner saw Walmsley denied only inches in front of the tryline.

Castleford’s best opportunity came with 15 minutes left in the first half and after piling the pressure on Wakefield’s tryline Alex Mellor looked to have crashed over the line, only for video replays to determine he had been held up after a superb intervention by Walmsley.

Danny McGuire's side appeared aggrieved when Wakefield forward Isaiah Vagana went unpunished for a shoulder-first challenge on Daniel Okoro, but they made their belated breakthrough seven minutes from the interval when Josh Simm crashed over on the right flank.

After failing to make the most of a subsequent spell of pressure, Castleford were punished two minutes before the interval when Walmsley dived acrobatically in at the corner to give his side a 16-4 half-time lead.

Wakefield went further clear two minutes after the restart when Tom Johnstone latched onto a delicious lofted kick from Lino to go in at the corner and Jowitt added the conversion from the sideline.

Captain Sam Wood responded for Castleford off Milnes' kick on the hour mark but their joy proved short-lived as Wakefield finished with a flourish - Walmsley soaring in for his second in the corner before Faatili charged more than half the length of the pitch to put the seal on a thumping win.