Report

Warrington Wolves put in a solid performance against the Catalans Dragons to secure a must win 24-16 victory against their relegation rivals.

A late try from the impressive Richie Myler threatened to ruin the result for the Wire supporters, before Andre Savelio crashed over right at the death to make the game safe.

The visitors took only three minutes to break the deadlock through winger Jodie Broughton. A Catalans penalty for Warrington moving off the mark at the play the ball gave the Dragons good field position, with the resulting play seeing Kevin Penny shoot out of the defensive line. Luke Walsh spotted this, throwing a looping pass for Broughton to stroll over.

This lead only lasted four minutes however, with Benjamin Jullien crossing after good work from Ryan Atkins. Warrington shovelled the ball through the hands with Declan Patton supplying Atkins, who shrugged off two tackles to flick out-the-back-door for Jullien to score. A Kurt Gidley conversion gave the Wolves a slender 6-4 lead.

The Wire soon extended this lead on 22 minutes through Ryan Atkins. A spiral bomb by Gidley, paired with a determined chase by Kevin Penny, forced the error from Dragons full-back Tony Gigot. A quick play the ball caught the visitors off guard, allowing Atkins to reach over and score. Gidley was unable to add the extras, bringing the scores to 10-4 for the Wolves. This came at a cost however, as influential captain Chris Hill was seen hobbling down the tunnel with an ankle injury.

The Dragons, keen to impress new coach Steve McNamara, refused to lie down and hit back with a slick try through former Warrington half back Richie Myler nine minutes before the break. Luke Walsh scooped the ball up from dummy half and darted into a gap in the Wire defence. He found the supporting Myler who threw a neat dummy and shimmy to waltz his way over. Walsh nailed the conversion to level the scores at 10-10.

The Wolves did have the last say in the half however, with Gidley slotting over a penalty goal, with both teams returning to the sheds with the home side holding a narrow 12-10 advantage.

Both teams returned to the field displaying a nervy attitude, with each playing cautiously to avoid loss in a must win game. This resulted in a stalemate until the 57^th minute, when a Daryl Clark break resulted in a penalty in front of the sticks for holding down. Gidley duly converted to push the Wolves further ahead to 14-10.

The penalty seemed to spark some life into the half, with the catalyst Clark making another clean break, exploiting a late retreat from the Dragons defenders. A good tackle from Broughton ended the break; however a quick play the ball allowed Gidley to place an inch perfect kick for Atkins to leap like a salmon to bag a brace of tries. Gidley couldn’t crown Atkins 150^th Warrington try with the conversion, with the scores remaining at 18-10.

Again the Dragons hit back, with Myler grabbing his second with 10 minutes remaining. The half-back placed a smart grubber through on the last, bamboozling the Wire defenders, and allowing Myler to follow through and ground his own kick. Walsh’s goal brought Catalans to within two points and ensured a nail biting finish.

A rejuvenated Dragons side suddenly had the wind in their sails, going 100 metres from the kick off and forcing a drop out from Will Dagger, however they couldn’t hold onto the ball in threatening position, wasting a golden opportunity.

In the dying stages, a desperate Myler high bomb was taken expertly by Dagger, who then carved through the Dragons defence, finding Clark who was dragged down three metres out. A penalty for holding down gave the Wolves another set on the visitors line, with Andre Savelio crashing over to secure their first win in seven games. Gidley’s conversion meant the game finished with the Wolves winning a relegation four-pointer 24-16.

Written by Nathan Okell.