Warrington beat Catalans to stay in play-off hunt
Jake Thewlis scored tries in each half for Warrington
- Published
Betfred Super League, Halliwell Jones Stadium
Warrington (12) 30
Tries: Gardner, Jake Thewlis 2, Stone, Josh Thewlis Goals: Sneyd 5
Catalans (22) 22
Tries: Makinson 3, Laguerre Goals: Aispuro-Bichet 3
Warrington Wolves came from 22-6 down to beat Catalans Dragons and maintain their hopes of a place in the Super League play-offs.
Tommy Makinson's hat-trick inside half an hour had given the visitors a big lead, with Matthieu Laguerre also going over for the visitors.
Zack Gardner scored Wire's first try, before Jake Thewlis added a second to bring them back to 22-12 behind at half-time.
Warrington then totally dominated the second half as tries from Sam Stone and a second from Jake Thewlis put them in front, before Josh Thewlis sprinted in to seal victory as Wolves moved within three points of sixth-placed Hull FC with five games left.
It was a fourth consecutive victory for Warrington over Catalans but they were outplayed in the first half.
Makinson scored the opening try after only four minutes with a dive into the left corner, but Wire kept a loose ball alive and worked it right to give Gardner a walk in.
The French side then took control as centre Laguerre ran over two would-be tacklers to score their second try, before full-back Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet chipped over the defence, his kick was gathered again and the play moved left for Makinson's second score.
His hat-trick soon followed as Laguerre again burst through the defence and stand-off Luke Keary kicked to the left corner on the last tackle. It was claimed by Makinson, who did superbly well to ground the ball before being taken into touch.
But the winger fell awkwardly on his shoulder, was forced off and it proved to be Catalans' last points of the match.
Wire replied before the break as George Williams kicked over the defence, Connor Wrench gathered and sent Jake Thewlis galloping up the left touchline to score.
On the resumption, Williams' grubber was deflected into the path of Stone to gather and go over to launch a sustained period of pressure from the hosts.
They eventually went ahead as Jake Thewlis scored the try of the night. Offered a moment's space in the left corner, he dived for the line and grounded the ball with both feet above waist height.
Marc Sneyd then landed a superb goal, his fourth out of five in all, to put Warrington in front for the first time.
Victory was sealed as Catalans overplayed with time ticking down, lost possession on halfway and the loose ball was collected by Josh Thewlis, who ran in Wire's fifth try.
Warrington head coach Sam Burgess told BBC Radio Merseyside:
"I was relatively calm at half-time considering the performance because I knew if we got our game together we could still win.
"A couple moments in the first half we were poor defensively but Catalans came to play and they challenged us with the ball and we just switched off a little bit.
"We tidied that up in the second half and we had a weight of possession and we managed to get over the line and then Jake's second try was outstanding."
Warrington: Rachford, Josh Thewlis, Gardner, Wrench, Jake Thewlis, Williams, Sneyd, Yates, Walker, Matterson, Stone, Fitzgibbon, Currie
Interchanges: Powell, Philbin, Thomas, Holroyd
Catalans: Aispuro-Bichet, Makinson, Laguerre, Smith, Cotric, Keary, Fages, Maria, Da Costa, Satae, Garcia, Sironen, Partington
Interchanges: Pangai Jr, Navarette, Dezaria, Balmforth
Referee: Tom Grant.