Warrington Wolves come from behind to defeat Catalans Dragons
Last Updated: 06/06/15 3:13pm
Ryan Atkins and Ben Currie both scored a brace of tries to help Warrington to a hard-earned 26-18 victory over Catalans Dragons at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
The Wolves bounced back from their Magic Weekend defeat to St Helens to claim a crucial win against the French side to keep them on the heels of Super League's top four.
As well as tries for Atkins and Currie, Warrington scored through a solo effort from Chris Hill while Gareth O'Brien landed three conversions.
The Dragons claimed tries from Tony Gigot, Elliott Whitehead and Eloi Pelissier in defeat and three conversions from Scott Dureau.
The Wolves were forced to survive some early pressure after O'Brien booted his kick-off straight out on the full, and they were punished for another error on eight minutes when Stefan Ratchford lost possession in the tackle and the loose ball was scooped up by Gigot for a simple try.
Wolves forward Ben Westwood was placed on report by referee Robert Hicks after a dangerous tackle on Jason Baitieri but Dureau failed to find the target from 40 metres out from the resulting penalty.
Warrington got on the scoreboard after 23 minutes when another period of pressure saw the French defence crack as O'Brien sent Currie racing over for a try.
The Wolves took the lead nine minutes before half-time when Daryl Clark's kick deflected into the hands of Richie Myler and his long pass gave Atkins the space to use his excellent footwork to cut though the defence and score.
O'Brien was again on target with the conversion to give Tony Smith's side a 12-6 half time advantage.
Outrageous
Catalans struck first after the interval when hooker Pelissier sold an outrageous dummy to the Wolves defence to claim a fine solo try and Dureau's conversion drew the French side level.
And it got better for the French outfit three minutes later when more excellent work by Pelissier allowed Whitehead to plunge over from close range.
Catalans could have put more points on the board when Morgan Escare split the Wolves with a wonderful midfield break, but a wild pass failed to find a team-mate and the chance was lost.
And they were made to pay as Warrington immediately went up the other end and some fine handling allowed Atkins to score his second try and reduce the deficit to two points.
Warrington hit the front again on the hour mark with a superb individual try from prop forward Hill, who showed excellent footwork to round Ian Henderson and race clear to score. O'Brien converted to edge his side further in front at 22-18.
And the Wolves clinched victory seven minutes later with a spectacular near length-of-the-field try, Ratchford breaking from deep and sending Currie sprinting 50 metres down the touchline for a thrilling score.
