The former Manly and Sydney Roosters player was largely responsible for the Warriors taking a 9-0 lead at the break.

Hastings was heavily involved in the opening try, sending a delicate kick behind the defensive line for Jake Bibby to score before setting up Bibby for his second try.

He then capped a superb first 40 minutes with a drop goal from 35 metres.

Hastings was untouchable in the second half as well. First he made a break to get Wigan on the front foot and then sent out another flat ball for Bibby to go over for his hat-trick.

Wigan were in full control by then despite conceding two late tries.

Wigan coach Adrian Lam felt it was his team's best performance of the season despite conceding the tries.

"I thought that first 60 minutes was as good as we have been this year," said Lam. "There was a 20-minute period there when we were back to who we want to be as a team.

"The last 15 minutes, I am not going to take any notice of. I had got all our subs on and had rested as many players as I could, so we were out of sync a little at the end."

Wakefield coach Chris Chester admitted it was a frustrating night for his side.

"I thought it was an even contest in the first half, I didn't think there was a lot between the two teams to be honest," said Chester. "The difference tonight was the guy at full-back (Jackson Hastings). He caused us a lot of problems.

Australian Associated Press