Super League: Catalans Dragons 14-20 Warrington Wolves - Wire retain 100% record despite Dudson red
- Published
Betfred Super League |
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Catalans (10) 14 |
Tries: McMeeken, Penalty try, Romano Goals: Keighran |
Warrington (8) 20 |
Tries: Thewlis 2, Dufty, Williams Goals: Ratchford 2 |
Warrington Wolves maintained their 100% record with an eighth straight Super League win despite being reduced to 12 men away to Catalans Dragons.
In a seesaw opening half, Wire scores from Josh Thewlis and Matt Dufty came either side of Mike McMeeken's touchdown and a Catalans penalty try.
George Williams went in for Wolves, Arthur Romano dragged Catalans level and ex-Dragons prop Gil Dudson saw red.
Thewlis' second edged Warrington ahead, and Catalans had a late try ruled out.
Daryl Powell's side were the only Super League team with a 100% record from their opening seven games and showed some guts to keep pulling away from their hosts in the Perpignan sunshine.
While their forward pack did not enjoy quite the same supremacy they have for much of the campaign, they laid enough of a platform to overcome an equally gutsy Dragons.
Magic was provided by Dufty's fizzing pass to put Thewlis over out wide, and the former St George Illawarra full-back left the Dragons defence for dead in sprinting 90 metres for his try.
Ex-Dragon Sam Kasiano combined to tee up Williams to coast in after Josh Drinkwater's testing bomb forced a drop-out, while Williams turned provider with the crucial pass for Thewlis' second.
Not even Dudson's red card late on for striking Tom Johnstone could derail the Wolves as they repelled Catalans' desperate raids.
Steve McNamara's Dragons had only lost once themselves, in an off-colour performance at Leeds last month, and despite this loss, which came without a clutch of senior players such as Sam Tomkins and Mitchell Pearce, there were reasons for optimism.
After a shaky start, Adam Keighran found his radar with the boot to create opportunities, such as the kick which led to McMeeken grounding a loose ball.
Paul Seguier's little hack inside after a gallop down the line seemed to have been grounded by Warrington's Ben Currie in a try-saver, but the video referee deemed his intervention was worthy of a penalty try with Keighran lurking.
Johnstone intercepted a Wire attack and almost went the length, and debutant Tanguy Zenon was deemed to have grounded short on the back of the territory.
The late score chalked off when Romano went over proved telling as the Dragons slipped to only their second loss.
Catalans: Zenon; Davies, Whitley, Romano, Johnstone; Keighan, Mourgue; Navarette, Da Costa, Bousquet, McMeeken, Seguier, Garcia
Interchanges: Goudemand, Taukieaho, Dezaria, Tison
Warrington: Dufty; Thewlis, Mata'utia, Ratchford, Ashton; Williams, Drinkwater; Dudson, Walker, Vaughan, Currie, Nicholson, McGuire
Interchanges: Kasiano, Philbin, Minikin, Green
Referee: Chris Kendall.