Rugby League: Wakefield 30 - 15 Hull Kr

It is a sign of how much the game has changed in recent years that when Makali Aizue, a prop from the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea, was sent off last night for a reckless high tackle on the Wakefield wing Paul White, he became the first player to be dismissed in 96 Super League matches this season.

Hull Kingston Rovers then received a harsh reminder of the difficulties of playing with 12 against 13, as Trinity overturned a seven-point deficit with five second-half tries to take a huge step towards avoiding the sort of relegation battle in which they have become reluctant specialists.

They are now joint sixth in the table with Huddersfield, while Rovers remain an uncomfortable three points ahead of Salford who currently occupy the relegation position. However, they had looked comfortably the better side until Aizue's moment of madness in the 34th minute.

Somehow White managed to avoid serious injury and was even fit enough to score Wakefield's third try, with the full-back Matt Blaymire collecting two through his opportunist support play before he was knocked out by an accidental clash with the knee of Rovers' Michael Vella.

Paul Cooke was the dominant figure of the opening exchanges, helping to set up the game's first try in the eighth minute. A couple of precise kicks caused sufficient confusion in the Wakefield defence to earn three consecutive sets of six tackles, and Trinity finally cracked when Mark O'Neill sent Luke Dyer over on the right.

Rovers continued to dominate for the opening quarter but Wakefield's tackling held them out and Trinity halved the four-point deficit through a Paul March penalty awarded for Danny Ward's high tackle on Duncan MacGillivray. However that rearguard action was undermined by a rare moment of sloppiness from their captain Jason Demetriou, who allowed himself to be dispossessed by Hull KR's wing Byron Ford who picked up the ball and sprinted 50 meters for a second Rovers try.

Even after Aizue's dismissal, Cooke extended Rovers' lead to 9-2 with a shrewd drop goal three minutes before half-time. But after the break it was a different story. First Tevita Latu left James Webster floundering with a sidestep to send Ben Jeffries between the posts to cut the deficit to a single point, and within two minutes they were ahead when the full-back Matt Blaymire supported a powerful charge by Richard Moore.

Jeffries then combined with Ryan Atkins to send White scampering around the Rovers' full-back Ben Cockayne, and although Marsh missed the conversion attempt Wakefield had some breathing space.

Hull KR pulled back to within three points when Chris Chester sent Ian Hardman in at the right corner, and Cook converted from the touchline. But Wakefield stretched away again with Blaymire's second and a close-range flop from Adam Watene to make Aizue pay.

Wakefield Trinity Blaymire, Pryce, Demetriou, Atkins, White, P March, Jeffries, Bibey, Obst, Watene, MacGillivay, Golden, Ferres.

Interchange Catic, Elima, Latu, Moore.

Hull Kingston Rovers Cockayne, Hardman, Dyer, Goddard, Ford, Cooke, Webster, Vella, Fisher, Ward, Netherton, O'Neill, Gene.

Interchange Murrell, Aizue, Gannon, Chester.

Referee R Silverwood (Mirfield).