LONDON: Former New Zealand Warrior Patrick Ah Van helped himself to a double as Widnes Vikings strolled to a 40-8 win over Wakefield in Super League's Super 8s on Sunday.
With both teams out of contention for the semi-finals, it was the home side who played with the greater intensity and that told in a one-sided affair.
Ah Van kicked things off just eight minutes in after being put through by Rhys Hanbury and soon after it was Hanbury himself crossing for Widnes's second.
Matt Whitley and Corey Thompson also crossed to make it 24-0 at half-time, with Stefan Marsh and then Lloyd White going over early in the second half to stretch the lead to 34-0.
Wakefield scored twice late on through Craig Hall and Ben Jones-Bishop, either side of Ah Van's second, but it was little consolation.
On Saturday Warrington sealed their place in the top four thanks to Jack Hughes's last-gasp try against Castleford in a 14-11 win.
The Wolves, who will this week turn their attention to the Challenge Cup final, looked to be on course for defeat when Luke Gale's drop goal put the Tigers 11-10 up heading into the closing minutes.
But Hughes popped up at the death for Tony Smith's side to sneak the win and guarantee them a place in the semi-finals.
Joe Westerman and Rhys Evans had earlier crossed for Warrington, while Denny Solomona scored Castleford's only try.
The Tigers now need a lot of help if they are to break into the top four, sitting seven points back with four games remaining.
They are still alive, though, because St Helens saw their seven-game unbeaten run brought to a shuddering halt, with Wigan getting back to form.
Saints stunned the Warriors in the final round of the regular season, but they got their revenge with a 25-0 success at the DW Stadium.
New Zealand-born Anthony Gelling was the star of the show for Wigan, helping himself to a hat-trick, while George Williams scored their other try.
The win leaves Wigan just a point away from a guaranteed top-four spot, while Saints will have to wait a little longer to confirm their place in the semi-finals.
On Thursday Hull FC had also confirmed a play-off semi-final place as they hammered Catalans Dragons 44-0.
The Black and Whites ran in seven tries in all and have a one-point lead over Warrington at the top of the table.
Hull flew out of the blocks with tries from Dean Hadley and Mahe Fonua as Catalans struggled to deal with Marc Sneyd's kicking game.
Former Gold Coast Titan Mark Minichiello grabbed the third, with Fetuli Talanoa and then Fonua again stretching the lead.
Sneyd got in on the act before Frank Pritchard ran in the seventh for the league leaders.
The loss leaves Catalans four points behind Saints with four games to go, and likely needing to win out if they are to make the top four.
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