Johnstone stars as Wakefield beat Bulls to go second
· Yahoo Sports
Betfred Super League
Wakefield (24) 52
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Tries: Johnstone 4, Scott, Rourke, Pratt 3, Nikotemo Goals: Sinfield 6
Bradford (0) 12
Tries: Fulton, Peposhi Goals: Atkin 2
Tom Johnstone scored four tries and Oliver Pratt added a hat-trick as Wakefield Trinity overpowered Bradford Bulls to go second in the Super League table.
Daryl Powell's side have now won five on the trot in Super League, a run only interrupted by last week's narrow Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat by Wigan Warriors.
The Bulls, badly depleted by injury, were second-best from start to finish as the two Trinity wingers found acres of space to grab seven scores between them, with Cam Scott, Josh Rourke and Seth Nikotemo also crossing for tries.
Johnstone, who had managed just three tries this season going into the match, had three inside 18 minutes and passed 150 for his career.
Wakefield had a few selection issues of their own, with Jazz Tevaga suspended and Isaiah Vagana out, but they were too sharp for Bradford, who have now lost three successive games, with Johnstone notching his 150th career try within two minutes and strolling over for two more before Bulls could piece any kind of game together.
Bradford were giving up penalties and conceding territory alarmingly, and their only consolation was that Jack Sinfield failed to convert all three of Johnstone's first-half tries from the touchline.
He was more accurate as Scott added a fourth try, and when Bulls finally threatened the Trinity line the outcome was a swift break by Johnstone, who had Corey Hall and then Rourke in support, the latter going over to make it 24-0 at half-time.
Bulls finally had some joy shortly into the second half as Zac Fulton was first to Joe Mellor's kick, but Pratt, who had watched Johnstone's exploits from the opposite flank in the first half, got in on the act with two of his own either side of one from Nikotemo.
Eliot Peposhi responded with his first try for Bulls but that just spurred Trinity back into action and Pratt grabbed his third, and 11th of the season, to take him second in the list of top try-scorers for this campaign.
Johnstone had the last word, latching on to Rourke's inch-perfect kick for his fourth, the first time he has achieved that feat in Super League, although he did score four against Toulouse in a Challenge Cup quarter-final 10 years ago.
Wakefield: Rourke; Pratt, Scott, Hall, Johnstone; Sinfield, Trueman; Pitts, Nikotemo, Storton, Lolesio, Smith, McMeeken.
Interchanges: Smoothy, Rodwell, Hamlin-Uele, Faatili.
Bradford: Aekins; Wynne, Marsters, Chamberlain, Ryan; Atkin, Mellor; Ormondroyd, Ackers, Lewis, Fulton, Ruan, Peposhi.
Interchanges: Hallas, Scurr, Douglas, Russell.
Referee: Liam Rush.