Crusaders 23 Wakefield Wildcats 10: Crusaders battle back and secure win to close the gap on Wakefield

Wakefield had got off to a flier, Dale Morton grabbing the opening try on nine minutes and when Clinton Schifcofske erred, Morton went over again.

Four minutes into the second half Jordan Tansey dashed through the middle and put Michael Witt away to score between the posts. Schifcofske’s goal cut the deficit to four points.

Centre Vince Mellars scored an unconverted try in the left corner which levelled the scores at 10-10.

Wakefield’s Aaron Murphy had a ‘try’ ruled out for a forward pass, and Kieran Hyde was stopped by some last-gasp defence.

Witt put the Crusaders in front for the first time on 68 minutes when he dropped a goal from 20 yards to get the crowd roaring.

There was little to choose between the sides as the final moments arrived, although Wakefield’s handling errors were letting them down.

However, tries from Ryan O’Hara and Rhys Hanbury, both converted by Schifcofske, in the final stages decided the contest.

Crusaders: Schifcofske, Reardon, Thomas, Mellars, Kear, Witt, Hanbury, Bryant, White, Moore, Cahill, Winternstein, Lupton. Substitutes: Tansey, Sammut, Flower, O’Hara.

Wakefield Trinity: Blaymire, Griffin, Dean, Murphy, Morton, Hyde, Lee, P. Johnson, Rinaldi, Amor, Morrison, Mariano, Howarth. Substitutes: King, Henderson, Higgins, Smith.

Referee: P Bentham (Warrington)