Dragons too cool for Cats

Khattabi: Scored a try in each half for the visitors

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• Catalans Dragons
• Wakefield Wildcats

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Catalans Dragons bounced back from an early deficit with 20 unanswered points to beat Wakefied 30-14 at Belle Vue on Tuesday night.

The victory means Mick Potter's side have now won five on the spin - their best ever run in Super League - to leave themselve sitting pretty in third spot.

Younes Khattabi and Casey McGuire bagged a brace for a Catalans team that included eight players who featured for France in Friday's Gillette International against England.

There seemed to be a hangover for those who were on the end of a 56-8 loss in Toulouse as a fired up Wakefield came out firing on all cylinders.

Early scores

Knowing a defeat would mean they would slip out of the top six, the Wildcats managed to score two tries inside the first 13 minutes to go 10-0 ahead.

Tony Martin and Oliver Wilkes had already gone close by the time Sean Gleeson broke the deadlock with a neat finish in the right corner.

Danny Brough was unable to convert from out wide but was left with a much easier kick four minutes later when Ryan Atkins' wonderful pass just before he hit the turf allowed Damien Blanch to gallop in next to the posts.

However, from a position of complete strength the Wildcats fell apart, their four match winning run coming to a disappointing halt in a match pushed back because of the mid-season Test.

All the hosts managed in the next 67 minutes of play were two Brough penalties, while injury was added to insult when they saw both skipper Jason Demetriou and centre Martin forced off.

It took a lucky bounce for the Dragons to come alive, somehow an up-and-under near the halfway line breaking kindly for Sebastien Raguin, who then passed on for McGuire to notch his first through some weak tackling.

Firm grip

The visitors then took a firm grip on proceedings, Khattabi grabbing a brace in almost identical fashion thanks to clever kicks from centre partner Raguin.

While the winger's first before the break was certainly legal his second may have been somwehat fortunate as Jamie Rooney appeared to be obstructed as he tried to close down the kicker.

By that time the impressive Raguin had already crossed for the first try of the second half and when McGuire capitalised on Matt Blaymire's inability to deal with Adam Mogg's grubber kick to get his second, the game was all-but over as a contest.

Bosc slotted over a penalty to make certain of the two points for the Dragons, who now find themselves cemented in the play-off places. How Wakefield wish they could be there too.