Wolves stunned by French

Les Catalans gave coach Kevin Walters his first victory since taking charge with a thrilling comeback win against a demoralised Warrington at the Halliwell Jones.

The Dragons were totally out-played in the first half but Walters rallied his troops to such effect that they ran in five tries after the break to clinch a stunning 40-20 victory.

Wolves fans will wonder what happened to their side, who chalked up an 18-6 lead inside half an hour with three first-half tries - and they had ample opportunity to put the game beyond an initially lethargic French outfit.

But a try from Olivier Elima on the stroke of half-time sent the Dragons into the break on good terms with themselves and a deficit of six points that did no justice to the Wolves dominance.

Ben Westwood went on report in the ninth minute following a shocking tackle that left Dane Carlaw prostrate and requiring lengthy treatment that eventually saw him carted from the field.

Wolves dominate

But it was the French side who went ahead after Thomas Bosc's chip through left the Wolves defence wrong-footed, allowing Gregory Mounis to touch down with inches to spare.

Warrington began to dominate though and Matt King was put in by Micky Higham on the left after the ball was turned over following a Steven Bell knock on.

Chris Hicks missed the extras but he was on target after Gareth Carvell ghosted over the line following another fine pass from Higham in the 20th minute.

Dragons continued to make handling errors and five minutes later a forward pass inside their own 22 handed Wolves possession, and after Vinnie Anderson dashed from the base of the scrum he put in Hicks to cross unopposed in the corner.

Hicks converted his own try and with the hosts thoroughly dominant it was surprising they opted for the two-pointer on 32 minutes when Mounis was caught offside following another handling error.

The successful kick made it 18-6 but Wolves forfeited a late try when Elima surged over under the posts and with Bosc slotting the two, the French side went in just six points adrift.

Bosc calling the shots

And Wolves were made to rue their decision as the Dragons came roaring out of the dressing room, man-of-the-match Clint Greenshields dodging his way over after a switch in the direction of play that left the Wolves defence wrong-footed.

Bosc levelled with the boot and he was involved in virtually every move as the visitors sniffed a possible upset.

Wolves missed a chance to go ahead again when Adrian Morley spilled the ball on the second tackle deep inside the opposing 22, but Hicks was able to slot the easiest of penalties after David Ferriol was sin-binned in the 57th minute for a pointless moment of indiscipline.

It meant the hosts were back in front and looking to press home their advantage, but the loss of Ferriol merely served to inspire the French, who scored twice while he was on the sidelines.

Full-back Greenshields scored his second in the 61st minute and shortly afterwards a cut-out ball from Bosc set up Cyril Stacul in the right hand corner, and although Bosc missed his first kick of the night the 28-20 score meant Wolves needed to score twice.

But they handed the Dragons another six tackles inside their own 22 and Philippe Jean-Baile wriggled over with Bosc adding the extras.

With Warrington shoulders slumped French international Dmitri Pelo wrapped up the win in the 72nd minute as he was sent through in acres of space on the left, Chris Riley offering a weak last line of defence.

Bosc added an injury-time penalty so it was Les Catalans who left Lancashire with the points and the hosts without a win from their first two Super League games.