St Helens keep slim play-off hopes alive by stunning Wakefield

St Helens have never failed to make play-offs but in battle to reach post-season this year; Saints bounce back from three straight defeats with victory at Wakefield after 34 unanswered points in second half; Wigan beat Bradford, who drop to foot of table after Huddersfield win at Toulouse

St Helens produced a blistering second-half performance to stun Wakefield Trinity with a 46-16 victory and keep their slim Super League play-off hopes alive.

Saints, who have never failed to make the post-season, came into the match on a run of three defeats in a row and five losses in six, leaving them six points off the top six.

The visitors slipped 10-0 down to fourth-placed Wakefield and trailed 16-12 at half-time but then ran in six unanswered tries in the second period.

😇 The Saints stun the Trin at the DIY Kitchens Stadium! What a win over Wakefield! #COYS | @LPL_Airport pic.twitter.com/QbMCfF0d92

Tristan Sailor's brace completed his hat-trick while Lewis Murphy added to his first-half score and Jake Davies touched down twice in the closing stages to move St Helens to within four points of sixth-placed Leigh Leopards with four games remaining.

Wakefield, who lost Josh Rourke and try-scorer Isaiah Vagana to injuries inside the first quarter of an hour, missed the chance to move two points behind table toppers Leeds as they suffered a sixth successive defeat to Saints and slipped to back-to-back home losses after last week's narrow reverse against the Rhinos.

Tyson Smoothy's eighth-minute effort, which was converted by Jack Sinfield, and Vagana's Sinfield-aided score in the 12th put Wakefield on top.

However, Vagana was barged into as he went down and went off with a physio holding his left arm, after Rourke departed following a collision with Murphy.

Sailor and Murphy dragged Saints back into the contest with tries that Jackson Hastings converted, only for Sinfield to exploit a huge gap before kicking his second conversion to leave Wakefield four points to the good at the break.

Lachlan Walmsley had two tries chalked off for Trinity after the resumption, either side of which Murphy put Saints back in front with another fine finish, diving one-handed in the corner before hobbling off with an injury to his left leg.

Once Billy Keeley latched on to a loose ball and went over after 64 minutes, Saints dominated, with Sailor's hat-trick, sealed after a lung-busting run, prompting Wakefield's fans to stream for the exits.

FULL TIME: Wakefield Trinity 16-46 St Helens Wakey stumble at home. #UpTheTrin | @TheLEDStudio pic.twitter.com/sgAxBPuUk3

Trinity coach Daryl Powell called his side's capitulation "unforgivable", saying: "There was a lack of effort, almost, at the end.