Catalans Dragons hold a 14-6 lead at the break over Warrington Wolves in the Challenge Cup Final.
Catalans struck early. When a high kick was regathered by the Dragons, Benjamin Jullien did brilliantly to offload around the back of his defender to Lewis Tierney who dived in. Drinkwater converted from the touchline.
The Dragons extended their lead to eight when Ben Westwood was penalised for holding down Sam Moa allowing Drinkwater to slot the easy penalty.
Warrington thought they had earned their way back into the game when Tom Lineham slid in at the corner but it was ruled out by the video referee, Ben Thaler, for obstruction.
The Wolves weren’t to be denied a second time. Stefan Ratchford’s kick was dropped by Fouad Yaha allowing Ben Murdoch-Masila to saunter in around the posts. Tyrone Roberts’ conversion reduced the arrears to two points.
But Ben Garcia’s try, where he snuck over from dummy half, restored the Dragons’ eight-point lead with five minutes left in the first half.
Full-time match report to follow
Dragons: Gigot, Tierney, Mead, Wiliame, Yaha, Langi, Drinkwater, Simon, McIlorum, Moa, Jullien, Garcia, Casty (C); Interchanges: Bousquet, Baitieri, Edwards, Goudemand
Tries: Tierney, Garcia; Goals: Drinkwater 3
Wolves: Ratchford, Lineham, Goodwin, T King, Charnley, Brown, Roberts, Hill (C), Clark, Cooper, Livett, Hughes, Westwood; Interchanges: Murdoch-Masila, G King, Patton, Philbin
Tries: Murdoch-Masila; Goals: Roberts
The full match report of the 2018 Challenge Cup Final will feature in Monday’s League Express.