Hull FC 18 Wakefield Trinity 26: Super League's great escape artists do it again

Part of Super League's furniture since 1999, Wakefield are no strangers to a relegation scrap.

Trinity survived the Battle of Belle Vue in 2006 and the Million Pound Game nine years later, two of five occasions the club have avoided the drop on the final day.

While this season has not been quite as dramatic, Wakefield were rock bottom only three weeks ago and the momentum was with Toulouse Olympique.

But just when you think Trinity's time in Super League is up, they find a way to dodge the bullets.

Willie Poching's spirited side arrived at Hull FC with fresh memories of a massive win over Wigan Warriors and they never looked back after taking an early lead through the prodigiously talented Lewis Murphy.

The young winger underlined his finishing ability with a first career hat-trick to help take Wakefield six points clear of Toulouse with three games remaining.

Although Trinity are not yet mathematically safe, their vastly superior points difference means there is no way back for their French rivals.

Hull, meanwhile, can forget about the play-offs after another below-par performance at the MKM Stadium.

The Black and Whites kept fighting in an improvement on recent efforts, which saw Brett Hodgson's side concede 168 points in three home matches, but there was no sugarcoating a ninth defeat in 11 games.

Already without a whole host of players, both teams lost two more in the early stages to continue a competition-wide theme.

Wakefield laid down an early marker by driving Will Smith back towards his own line but it came at a cost with in-form forward Jai Whitbread left in a heap on the ground.

Whitbread was helped from the field in clear discomfort and did not return, leaving Trinity without a key man for virtually the full game.

But Hull were forced into a reshuffle themselves after losing Connor Wynne and Joe Lovodua inside the opening eight minutes.

Wynne was forced off after taking a knock to the head and Lovodua could not continue due to a knee injury.

In amongst the chaos, Murphy came close to pulling off an acrobatic finish in the corner as Trinity picked up where they left off last week.

When he got a second chance moments later, the exciting young winger nailed it.

After Tinirau Arona was taken out off the ball by Scott Taylor, Wakefield moved the ball out to the left where Murphy finished spectacularly from Max Jowitt's classy cut-out pass.

Arona became the latest player to leave the field but he and Wynne soon returned after passing HIAs.

Wakefield handled the disjointed nature of the first half better than their hosts and extended their lead in the 24th minute when Jacob Miller, Lino and Lee Gaskell combined to put Lee Kershaw over in the corner.

The try was met by boos from the home fans and their mood did not improve after seeing Lino nail a second touchline conversion.

Hull - so fragile under pressure - needed to score next and they did just that through Ben McNamara, making his first appearance since March.

Luke Gale's low kick caused confusion in the Wakefield defence and McNamara was on hand to touch down next to the posts.

Ligi Sao's thunderous back-line carry kept Hull on the front foot but the prop was guilty of pushing a pass at the other end to the frustration of the home crowd.

The momentum quickly swung back in Trinity's favour and they benefited from a huge slice of fortune just after the half-hour mark.

Harvey Barron was clattered as he looked to claim Miller's high kick but the ball came off the onrushing Gaskell's face and dribbled into the in-goal area where Murphy finished under pressure from Smith.

Wakefield did not allow Barron to settle and almost had a fourth try when the young winger failed to deal with another steepler, only for Lino to knock-on in the act of scoring.

Trinity were good value for their 16-6 half-time lead and would have been aware of Hull's habit of collapsing in the second period.

FC's cause was not helped by an injury to Manu Ma'u and he was soon joined on the sideline by Jordan Lane who was left nursing a head knock.

But there could be no excuse for the powderpuff effort that allowed Liam Hood to strike the decisive blow.

There appeared to be nothing on when Corey Hall was wrapped up over the line by five defenders but the Trinity man somehow managed to get away an offload to give his hooker an easy finish.

With Hull there for the taking, Murphy enjoyed an unforgettable moment when he pounced on a loose ball to complete his hat-trick.

Gaskell appeared to be in himself only to have the ball knocked from his grasp, allowing Murphy to score his 12th try of the season.

Eddie Battye had a try ruled out and Murphy was denied a fourth by the video referee as Wakefield threatened to rack up the points.

Hull scored late consolation tries through Ellis Longstaff and Chris Satae but the night belonged to Trinity.

Hull FC: Smith, Barron, Longstaff, Wynne, Vulikijapani, McNamara, Gale, Taylor, Lovodua, Sao, Ma'u, Lane, Fash.

Substitutes: Houghton, Satae, Litten, Laidlaw.

Wakefield Trinity: Jowitt, Kershaw, Croft, Gaskell, Murphy, Miller, Lino, Whitbread, Hood, Arona, Ashurst, Hall, Bowden.

Substitutes: Walker, Aydin, Battye, Fifita.

Referee: Liam Moore.