Super League: Wigan Warriors see off youthful Catalans Dragons to head into play-offs on a high
Wingers Bevan French and Liam Marshall both crossed twice, with Harry Smith, Kaide Ellis, Ethan Havard and Jake Bibby also grabbing tries; Catalans featured 10 debutants as head coach Steve McNamara rested players following the recent busy period
Last Updated: 03/09/22 4:14am
Two tries apiece from Liam Marshall and Bevan French helped Wigan Warriors round off the Betfred Super League regular season with a 48-4 win at home to an inexperienced Catalans Dragons team.
The Warriors took some time to click into gear following Harry Smith's seventh-minute try in Friday's match at the DW Stadium, but a double from Marshall and one from Kaide Ellis inside the final 10 minutes of the first half put them into a 24-point lead at the break.
Josh Drinkwater pulled one back for a Catalans side featuring 10 debutants five minutes into the second half, but there was to be no stirring comeback despite a spirited display from the visitors as Wigan maintained their 100 per cent home record.
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Two tries from French, Marshall's second of the night and further scores from Ethan Havard and Jake Bibby sent the Warriors into the play-offs on the back of a comfortable win, with player-of-the-match Smith converting all of his side's tries as well.
Story of the game
Catalans head coach Steve McNamara opted to rest some of his big names following the recent busy period ahead of his side's Eliminator game next Friday, drawing in players from the reserves team preparing for the start of the French domestic season.
Wigan, as expected, dominated the opening stages and went close through Jai Field and Kai Pearce-Paul.
They opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Smith and John Bateman combined with the former crashing over, followed by the half-back converting his own try for a 6-0 advantage.
Team news
Wigan were without Liam Farrell, who suffered a low-grade ACL injury in the recent derby win over St Helens and is "touch and go" for the play-offs.
Mike Parenti, Maxime Jobe, Tanguy Zenon, Bastien Scimone, Ugo Tison, Leo Laurent, Hugo Salbio Lucas Ribas, Leo Llong and Loan Castano all made their debuts for Catalans.
The Dragons were working hard in defence as they scrambled back to stop French after he intercepted a pass on his own line.
Smith thought he had grabbed a second after he collected a loose pass from Romain Franco, but it was ruled out after the Catalans full-back was adjudged to have been in touch before he released the ball.
Despite leading, Wigan were not at their fluent best and were finding it difficult to carve out many clear chances.
They eventually extended their lead in the 31st minute thanks to a well-worked move up the middle. Havard took a neat inside ball from Cade Cust to break through and he drew in the defence to send Ellis in under the posts.
Wigan Warriors 48-4 Catalans Dragons score summary
Wigan Warriors: Tries – Liam Marshall (2), Bevan French (2), Harry Smith, Kaide Ellis, Ethan Havard, Jake Bibby; Goals – Harry Smith (8).
Catalans Dragons: Try – Josh Drinkwater.
The home side then went on to score four minutes later with Marshall collecting a pass from Field to score in the corner, before the winger took a pass from Bibby to grab his second on the hooter. Smith converted both for a 24-0 interval lead.
It was the Dragons who scored the first points of the second half as French fumbled the ball just inside his own half and Drinkwater picked up the loose ball and raced away to touch down despite the attention of a chasing Marshall.
Wigan shrugged off the loss of Cust through an injury to his left arm as French went in for his 30th try of the season as he touched down after Field had caused havoc with his grubber kick.
Havard forced his way over from close range as the Dragons started to tire, while Bibby scored from a yard out before French crossed for his second of the night to complete the scoring.
What they said
Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet
"I think it was a professional performance - it was a quite a tricky game. I think we were there physically and effort-wise.
"Execution wasn't great at times, but I thought the Catalans team - even with some new players in there - I thought they did their club proud."
Catalans Dragons head coach Steve McNamara
"It was a huge effort from them. They trained on Thursday night for the first and only time together, some of them are in pre-season and some of them have only just come back from holiday to play.
"It gives them a taste of what it's like on a big stage against probably one of the best teams in the competition. That's something they need to aim for on a regular basis in the future."
What's next?
Wigan now have a bye week courtesy of finishing second in the table and will be at home in the first of the play-off semi-finals on Friday, September 16.
Catalans, who finish the regular season fourth, are at home in the first Eliminator on Friday, September 9, with their opponents to be determined following the conclusion of Saturday's matches.
