Dragons hold off Tigers

Catalans Dragons toppled Castleford 38-30 in a high-scoring thriller to move into second spot in the Super League table.

The hosts stretched their unbeaten run to eight games in all competitions against the rock-bottom Tigers who played their part in a cracking contest.

They looked capable of an upset when they pulled within two in the closing stages only for the Dragons to deny them through Gregory Mounis' try.

It was the seventh and final score for Les Catalans, who maintain their impressive form despite finding out during the week that coach Mick Potter is heading to St Helens for next season.

Crucial period

Crucially the Dragons scored three times in the final 10 minutes of the first half, opening up a cushion that would prove vital in the final reckoning.

Dimitri Pelo had put them in front with a simple finish in the left corner to set the tone for a tit-for-tat scoring session in the opening quarter.

Castleford came close to an instant reply but Joe Westerman was unable to hang onto the ball as he pressed forward in search of the try line.

However, Michael Shenton made no mistake soon after, dummying his way through the first line of defence and then showing great power and persistence to fight his way to the line.

Kirk Dixon converted but the Tigers' lead was brief, Michael Korkidas' late shoulder charge on Casey McGuire setting up Jerome Guissett to barge his way over.

Once again the Tigers came roaring back, Westerman making up for his earlier error by getting on the end of a neat grubber kick that Dixon converted.

Les Catalans answered back through Sebastien Raguin and then put some daylight between the two teams when Aaron Gorrell dived over from close range.

Firing Dragons

Justin Murphy then managed to squeeze his way over in the corner and although Castleford replied through Korkidas, who somehow got the ball down despite the attentions of four defenders, the Dragons were not done.

Clint Greenshields notched the final points of a frantic first half, accepting Murphy's inside ball before the winger went out of touch to score on the right.

The second half proved much less frantic than the first, both teams appearing to remember the need for some defence.

Raguin's sin-binning offered the Tigers a chance to claw their way back, though even with 12 the Dragons managed to add to their lead, Korkidas' hit off the ball allowing Thomas Bosc to slot over a simple penalty.

The double-digit gap was cut back when Ryan McGoldrick fended off two tacklers to dive over underneath the posts, leaving Dixon a simple conversion.

It looked like Castleford could complete an unlikely comeback when they grabbed the next score too, Brent Sherwin's beautifully-weighted kick giving Adam Fletcher a try on the right.

Despite seeing their lead dwindle down to two the Dragons held their nerve under pressure and sealed the two points when Mounis waltzed over.