Catalans Dragons slipped to another Super League defeat despite almost launching an incredible comeback against Warrington Wolves, with the manner of defeat described as ‘heartbreaking’ by Les Dracs’ coach Joel Tomkins.
After trailing 18-2 at half-time, Catalans fought back in the second half to make it 20-18 with minutes to go but Warrington hit back to keep their own Super League play-off hopes alive as they won 24-20.
It now means Warrington have won three in a row and are a live chance of making the top six, whereas Catalans sit a distant seven points from the play-offs with their disastrous season continuing.
Speaking post-match on Sky Sports, Joel Tomkins was asked if he thought his side had managed to pull off a famous win with Hull FC loanee Denive Balmforth scoring the go-ahead try with just over five minutes to go.
“Yeah, I did (think we’d pulled off a win). It’s heartbreaking,” responded Tomkins, who has now presided over six defeats from seven games since the sacking of Steve McNamara.
Catalans Dragons loss ends any Super League play-off hopes
Assessing the game further, Tomkins rued his side’s ill-discipline before highlighting one of the best in Super League for their ability to turn the game on it’s head
He explained: “I thought it was a game of two halves. They dominated the first, we were pretty poor in the first half and we had five or six yardage errors and a few penalties.
“Second-half, I thought we came out and we turned them around and I thought we played pretty well. The game was there for us but that’s why George (Williams) gets paid the big money because he pulled that out of the bag and he won the game for them in the end.”
Looking for positives, Tomkins assessed: “The first half, I was disappointed but the second half, I was really pleased. There’s things to build on from there. I thought we had some really good individual performances. I thought Chris Satae was outstanding out there tonight along with a couple of others.
“We’re still a work-in-progress. There’s some more to come back into the team but we’ve got Hull KR and Wigan back-to-back so we know we need to improve massively on our first half performance, especially next week.”
Having been thrust into a head coaching role sooner than expected, he also noted the difference in emotions between his current role and playing, explaining: “As a coach, it’s different emotions. You feel more responsible for the way the team turn out and the way we play. Ultimately, it still means the same to me.”
Fin du match pic.twitter.com/LKNkw8e3tf
— Dragons Catalans (@DragonsOfficiel) July 12, 2025
