Wigan keep up title pace with win at Catalans

Liam Marshall scored his first hat-trick of tries for Wigan this season

Betfred Super League

Catalans (4) 4

Try: Romano

Wigan (16) 40

Tries: Marshall 3, Field 2, Eckersley 2 Goals: Smith 6

Wigan Warriors kept their pursuit of the League Leaders' Shield alive as they sealed a well-earned Super League win over Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.

Wigan motored ahead courtesy of a first half Liam Marshall double, with Jai Field also getting in on the action, but Arthur Romano kept the hosts in it at the break by reducing the deficit to 12 points.

Bevan French made his presence felt by setting up Field's second as well as twice teeing up Zach Eckersley, with Marshall running in late on for his hat-trick as Wigan rounded off their win in style.

The visitors' victory keeps them in with a slim chance of winning the League Leaders' Shield, however, with a maximum of 42 points available after their final three games, leaders Hull KR could beat them to the title next week if results go their way.

In the build-up to Saturday's fixture, Catalans announced that 13 players would leave the club including Sam Tomkins, who brought forward his second retirement.

Luke Keary, who controversially criticised the quality of Super League midway through his debut season, is one of the departures and was not named in the Dragons' squad to face Wigan.

Wigan were forced into a change just before kick-off as Adam Keighran was ruled out and replaced in the starting 13 by Junior Nsemba, as Kian McDermott joined the bench, while Romano came in pre-kick-off for Catalans with Fouad Yaha unable to start.

Marshall proved to be a handful for Catalans to deal with, hitting Les Dracs with a quickfire pair of tries inside the opening 25 minutes to bring his tally in Super League to 151.

Yet it was Field who scored the pick of the first-half scores, with a thrilling run to the whitewash after a swift offload from Eckersley in the build-up.

Not to be outdone, Catalans hit back in impressive fashion after Wigan failed to deal with Ugo Tison's high kick, leading to Romano crossing just before the break.

Field's second try was even better than his first.

The talismanic French put in an audacious kick which curled into the hands of the onrushing Field who touched down with ease.

Soon after Wigan were reduced to 12 players when Tyler Dupree put in a high arm on Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet which left the Catalans full-back with a bloodied nose.

Aispuro-Bichet, with tissue up his nose to stem the bleeding, almost put an incredible run to add to Catalans' tally shortly before Wigan were back to a full compliment, but Field put in a try-saving tackle to deny him.

Catalans kept up the pressure and Romano almost ran in at the corner for his second try of the evening but Wigan's cavalry of Field, Sam Walters and Liam Farrell arrived to haul him away from danger.

French's influence weighed heavily on Catalans again, as he sent in the kick for Eckersley to race in for his first and then offloaded for his second to ensure Wigan would take some momentum into next week's derby against St Helens.

Wigan coach Matt Peet:

"We came here earlier in the year and we won by a bigger scoreline than tonight and that was a physical game, we lost lads with broken bones. And it was the same again tonight, it's always physical here, there is a lot to contend with.

"It's a proud club with proud people and proud fans and the game tonight was just the kind of thing we needed.

"We seem to be building, we've been beaten recently by good teams who have been playing really well but our performances have been building in certain aspects.

"Some weeks we've won and our performance was off, but I'm comfortable with where we are right now."

Catalans coach Joel Tomkins:

"I thought we had a good go, we started the game with some real intent. There was a marked difference in our attitude to defend tonight so we made it difficult for them.

"We lost Theo Fages, Luke Keary and Oliver Partington on Thursday so to lose your six, seven and 13, it's difficult.

"When you've got half your salary cap sat on the sidelines and you're playing against one of the top teams you need your full squad playing.

"I thought the scoreline went away from us a little bit towards the end and I'm very disappointed with the last two tries but on the whole as a group I'm proud of them.

"They can look each other in the eyes and tell each other they left everything out there on the field. There's not been many times we've done that this year."

Catalans: Aispuro-Bichet; Romano, Laguerre, Smith, Cotric; Tison, Rouge; Sims, Da Costa, Navarrete, Sironen, Garcia, Partington.

Interchanges: Satae, Seguier, Dezaria, Balmforth.

Wigan: Field; Eckersley, Nsemba, Wardle, Marshall; French, Smith; Hill, O'Neill, Byrne, Walters, Farrell, Ellis.

Interchanges: McDermott, Mago, Leeming, Dupree.

Referee: Tom Grant.