SATURDAY was the day where even the most optimistic of Wolves followers were forced to take a dim view.

It was common knowledge that The Wire could not afford to drop any more points if they were to stand a chance of sneaking into the top eight.

Victory over Catalans and the arrival of Peta Hiku brought cautious optimism, but as the saying goes, it is the hope that kills you.

Even for the first quarter of the game at Belle Vue, Wolves set about their task with urgency and Brad Dwyer’s sniping try gave them a lead to protect, something that has been painfully rare this season.

However, once Bill Tupou had finished off Scott Grix’s outrageous offload, it was almost all Wakefield.

As waves of home pressure came, The Wire probably would have taken a moral victory had they held Trinity out until the break.

Eventually, the dam burst as Ben Jones-Bishop squeezed over and Wakefield had a lead they never looked like relinquishing.

They went about their play with great speed and would have been further ahead had it not been for Wolves’ at-times desperate defence, for which they deserve some credit, indiscipline and shoddy execution.

The latter, and perhaps a slice of misfortune, befell Hiku as the ball came free when he looked set for a debut try.

Video technology might have spotted a ball steal, but the New Zealander’s frustration typified the afternoon and season as a whole.

Keegan Hirst’s sin-binning for a “crusher” tackle on Daryl Clark came after Kyle Wood had executed a carbon copy of Dwyer’s try and suddenly, Wolves had hope as well as several sets on the Trinity line.

Their pressure, which included two Wakefield team warnings, did yield well-executed try for Chris Hill, but in truth the hosts were comfortable in dealing with what Warrington had to throw at them.

That drained the life from Tony Smith’s side, not helped by seeing Will Dagger stretchered off, and it showed as Mason Caton-Brown had the freedom of Yorkshire to touch down for the killer blow.

A loss to Leigh on Friday, coupled with a Huddersfield win over Widnes, would confirm the seemingly inevitable.

The fat lady is not singing, but she is on stage and clearing her throat.

INTERESTING NOTES:

. Wolves’ first defeat to Wakefield in past four meetings.

. Peta Hiku becomes first New Zealander to play for Warrington since Louis Anderson in 2011.

. Saturday was the 19th time Wolves have conceded the first points of a game from 23 games in all competitions this season.

MATCH FACTS:

Super League Round 20, Saturday, July 1, 2017.

Wakefield Trinity…26 Warrington Wolves…12

Trinity: Scott Grix; Ben Jones-Bishop, Reece Lyne, Bill Tupou, Mason Caton-Brown; Sam Williams, Liam Finn; Adam Walker, Kyle Wood, Craig Huby, Matty Ashurst, Dean Hadley, Tinirau Arona. Subs: Joe Arundel, Chris Annakin, Keegan Hirst, Anthony England.

Wolves: Will Dagger; Jack Johnson, Peta Hiku, Ryan Atkins, Kevin Penny; Stefan Ratchford, Kurt Gidley; Chris Hill, Brad Dwyer, Mike Cooper, Benjamin Jullien, Jack Hughes, Joe Philbin. Subs: Daryl Clark, Ashton Sims, Andre Savelio, Sam Wilde.

Scoring: Finn penalty, 9mins, 2-0; Dwyer try, 13mins, Ratchford goal, 2-6; Tupou try, 21mins, Finn goal, 8-6; Finn penalty, 27mins, 10-6; Jones-Bishop try, 38mins, 14-6; Wood try, 50mins, Finn goal, 20-6; Hill try, 56mins, Ratchford goal, 20-12; Caton-Brown try, 74mins, Finn goal, 26-12.

Penalties: Trinity 11 Wolves 12.

Sin bin: Hirst (53mins, dangerous contact)

Referee: Robert Hicks.

Attendance: 4,829.

Guardian man of the match: Stefan Ratchford