Explained: Why Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors friendly was abandoned

Wakefield Trinity were in a celebratory mood against Wigan Warriors at Belle Vue and rightly so.

Not only was it Matty Ashurst’s deserved testimonial but it was their first game in front of their redeveloped stadium. At Belle Vue, newly named the DIY Kitchens Stadium, they welcomed fans into their new stand which sold out for the game.

Speaking of DIY Kitchens, it was also the first game since their owner Matthew Ellis completed his huge takeover of the club which is set to begin a new era at the club.

This era also sees former Leeds Rhinos, Warrington Wolves and Castleford Tigers boss Daryl Powell in charge and this was his home debut. He gave a full debut to star signing from Huddersfield Giants Jermaine McGillvary too.

However, a floodlight failure saw the game cut off early with 17 minutes to go. The issue emerged in the first half and into halftime with the lights turning off for short periods of time.

With the issue persisting into the second half, the game was abandoned and Wakefield said on social media: “The match here at the DIY Kitchens Stadium has been abandoned due to floodlight failure.

“We apologise for the issues this evening.”

Wakefield then went on to explain why the game was abandoned. They said on X: “Referee Chris Kendall chose to call the game off due to a player safety issue.”

Wakefield Trinity shine against Wigan Warriors

Wakefield impressed on the night against the Super League champions with new signing Jermaine McGillvary scoring a hat-trick.

The winger scored twice at the end of the first half to give Wakefield a 16-6 lead and then with 20 minutes to go he notched another try to make it 22-12 just before the match abandonment.

The other Wakefield try came from Renouf Atoni who powered over to make it 6-6 after Jack Douglas had started the scoring with an assist from Sam Walters.