WAKEFIELD turned the lights out on Leeds in more ways than one in the Challenge Cup fourth round encounter at DIY Kitchens Stadium.
First the floodlights went out after six minutes at 0-0 and play did not resume for around 25 minutes, fans initially treating the outage like a slumber party before eventually venting their frustration.
But the home supporters were soon cheered up. After going into halftime two points down, they grabbed a 24-14 win to bundle their glamorous neighbours and Vegas victors out of the Cup.
“We weren’t sure if we were going to have to come back another day,” said Trinity coach Daryl Powell.
“Thankfully we got the game on and that’s a big win for us.”
Winger Maika Sivo scored two first half tries for the Rhinos but the tide turned with a long range-effort finished off by Wakefield’s Oliver Pratt just before halftime.
The Rhinos did not cross the Trinity stripe in the second half, while the home side posted further touchdowns to Matty Storton and Ky Rodwell. Leeds centre Harry Newman was sent to the sin bin late for a professional foul.
Afterwards, Wakefield issued a statement about the blackout which read, in part: “Initial indications suggest the cause was an isolated cable fault, which was entirely unforeseen.
“Prior to kick-off, all standard pre-game safety and operational checks were completed and no issues with the floodlighting system were identified at that time.
“Our stadium operations team worked quickly with onsite engineers to investigate the fault, and the issue was identified and addressed. We will undergo further testing to confirm the issue has been completely rectified ahead of our next game on Friday 20th March against Leigh Leopards.”
A star for Trinity was Jack Sinfield, whose father Kevin is synonymous with the Rhinos.
“It’s a a bit weird, to be honest, because I’m playing against a lot of my mates,” said Sinfield.
Leeds coach Brad Arthur said: “We don’t want to be looking for excuses of Vegas and travel. We were just beaten out of the blocks.
“…we didn’t have the intent that the game deserved … we made the choice to not put enough into the game.
“It’s a poor reflection of us.”
WAKEFIELD 24 (Smith Pratt Storton Rodwell tries Sinfield 4 goals) beat LEEDS 14 (Sivo 2 Handley tries Connor goal) at DIY Kitchens Stadium. Referee: Jack Smith.