Catalans Dragons 30-14 Salford Red Devils: James Maloney inspires French side to win
Dragons in top half of Super League table after beating Salford for their third victory in first four games of season
Last Updated: 07/03/20 8:33pm
James Maloney produced an inspirational display to help Catalans fend off Salford with a 30-14 win on Saturday.
Two late tries were enough for Super League's French outfit as they were pushed all the way by the Red Devils in the evening encounter in Perpignan.
Ian Watson's Salford were punished early in the match as the Dragons put on a no-nonsense first-half performance to lead 18-0 at the break.
This time last year, Salford scored a stunning 46-0 victory at Stade Gilbert Brutus, but revenge was sweet for the Dragons with off-season signing Maloney's stand-out performance adding weight to their top-six aspirations.
Pre-match predictions of a Dragons rout were misplaced as Salford, aiming to avoid a fourth-straight defeat, stuck to their script with half-backs Kevin Brown and Tui Lolohea, plus three-quarter Ken Sio, providing a constant threat.
But Catalans hooker Michael McIlorum opened the scoring with a short-range try from dummy-half after six minutes, followed by Maloney kicking the conversion.
The former Australia international kicked the Dragons further ahead when Salford prop Gil Dudson was penalised for interfering with a play-the-ball in front of the posts.
Then Matt Whitley chipped over the defence to touch down in the left corner and the back row added a second after collecting a Maloney kick over the line for his second try on the half-hour, with the ex-Penrith Panthers half-back converting again.
Salford hit back early in the second half with a dazzling solo run from full-back Niall Evalds who stepped around Sam Tomkins to score on the right, with Lolohea adding the extras.
And Sio gave the visitors hope with a clever touchdown on the right corner flag before being bundled into touch.
But Catalans countered, forcing Salford into a series of goal-line drop-outs before the visitors were penalised for a high tackle on Tomkins. Maloney took the two points to make the score 20-10 with 20 minutes to go.
Then Salford raised their hopes by taking advantage of a fumble from full-back Tomkins for Sio to add his second on the right. Lolohea failed to convert to leave the game with a six-point balance.
Lewis Tierney struck the killer blow for Catalans with a dazzling midfield dash resulting in a try for his fellow winger Fouad Yaha.
Tierney got his own try following good work from Israel Folau and Maloney's conversion rounded things off.
