WARRINGTON WOLVES 30 CATALANS DRAGONS 22
KASEY SMITH, Halliwell Jones Stadium, Thursday
WARRINGTON got out of jail after scoring two late tries to snatch a win over spirited Catalans.
The Wolves’ play-off hopes have been hanging on by a thread in recent weeks and, for huge chunks of this game, it looked as if those ambitions were dead and buried as they found themselves 22-6 down against the Dragons after just 30 minutes.
Warrington, though, as they often have this year, dug deep to overturn what was a truly woeful first-half showing in which the Dragons ran riot.
It’s fair to say Catalans have endured a difficult season, delivering their fair share of dismal performances, but this time they played with freedom and purpose – not only showing their prowess in attack but proving their worth at the other end too.
It was harsh on Joel Tomkins’ men, who gave their all in a valiant effort to secure victory, only to be undone by five second-half penalties and several costly handling errors.
It was Warrington who ultimately claimed victory, displaying remarkable patience to wear down the Dragons in a relentless second-half assault, with their opponents only succumbing in the final ten minutes.
The tone was set very early on when the Dragons capitalised on a Stefan Ratchford spilled kick and, after quick hands involving Bayley Sironen and Luke Keary, Tommy Makinson went over in the corner for an early lead.
Then the Dragons failed to deal with a Marc Sneyd dink and Lachlan Fitzgibbon had the vision to spot space out right which the Wolves exploited when Zack Gardner ran through unopposed before Sneyd levelled with the conversion.
But the Dragons came to play and Théo Fages slipped a sharp drop-off pass to Matthieu Laguerre, who shrugged off the flimsy challenges of Sneyd and Ratchford before powering through to restore their six-point lead.
The Wolves excelled at limiting the Catalans’ yardage, but the moment the referee’s arm went up to signal the last tackle, the Dragons seemed to ignite. After an earlier warning shot from a Nick Cotric break, Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet – from well inside his own 40 – dabbed a clever chip for himself, sowing chaos in the Wolves’ back-line. As the ball was swiftly worked left, Makinson was on hand to power through as boos rang around the Halliwell Jones.
Fages and Laguerre combined superbly once more, with the French centre slicing through the line with pace and power. Keary seized control, lofting a pinpoint kick to Makinson, who soared high to clutch the ball out of the air and ground in the corner for his hat-trick.
Jake Thewlis pulled Warrington back into the contest with a try a minute before the break and in the second 40, after numerous repeated sets, Sam Stone broke through.
The Dragons showed great spirit to repel wave after wave of Warrington attacks, but they finally cracked when Jake Thewlis scored a sensational diving finish.
His brother Josh put the tie to bed six minutes from the end to keep their play-off hopes alive once more.
GAMESTAR: Marc Sneyd’s tremendous kicking game allowed Warrington a get-out-of-jail card.
GAMEBREAKER: The Dragons were done for when Josh Thewlis pounced on a loose Dragons pass to score late on.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: First came the break from Matthieu Laguerre, followed by the perfectly-timed Luke Keary kick, and then the acrobatics of Tommy Makinson – who couldn’t have wished for a better try to seal his hat-trick.
ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Marc Sneyd (Warrington)
2 pts Matthieu Laguerre (Catalans)
1 pt Tevita Satae (Catalans)
MATCHFACTS
WOLVES
19 Stefan Ratchford
2 Josh Thewlis
37 Zack Gardner
20 Connor Wrench
28 Jake Thewlis
6 George Williams
35 Marc Sneyd
13 Luke Yates
9 Danny Walker
40 Ryan Matterson
38 Sam Stone
12 Lachlan Fitzgibbon
11 Ben Currie
Subs (all used)
14 Sam Powell
15 Joe Philbin
27 Luke Thomas
21 Adam Holroyd
18th man (not used)
41 Ewan Smith
Also in 21-man squad
1 Matt Dufty
3 Toby King
10 Paul Vaughan
Tries: Gardner (12), Stone (46), Jake Thewlis (39, 69), Josh Thewlis (74)
Goals: Sneyd 5/5
DRAGONS
26 Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet
2 Tommy Makinson
23 Matthieu Laguerre
4 Reimis Smith
5 Nick Cotric
6 Luke Keary
21 Théo Fages
24 Franck Maria
14 Alrix Da Costa
15 Tevita Satae
9 Ben Garcia
17 Bayley Sironen
13 Oliver Partington
Subs (all used)
8 Tevita Pangai Jr
16 Romain Navarrete
20 Jordan Dezaria
31 Denive Balmforth
18th man (not used)
18 César Rougé
Also in 21-man squad
3 Arthur Romano
19 Paul Séguier
22 Fouad Yaha
Tries: Makinson (4, 19, 30), Laguerre (16)
Goals: Aispuro-Bichet 3/4
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 6-6, 6-12, 6-16, 6-22, 12-22; 18-22, 24-22, 30-22
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Wolves: Marc Sneyd; Dragons: Matthieu Laguerre
Penalty count: 7-2
Half-time: 12-22
Referee: Tom Grant
Attendance: 10,740