Catalans 0-26 Warrington: Wolves secure third win
Last Updated: 17/03/18 8:34pm
Warrington secured their third win of the season in the Betfred Super League by beating Catalans Dragons 26-0 in rain-sodden Perpignan.
Ben Murdoch-Masila scored twice but Kevin Brown ran the show for the Wolves, having a hand in three of the Wolves' five tries in an error-strewn game.
Catalans were hoping to win back-to-back games at home for the first time in almost two years following their victory over Hull KR last weekend, while Warrington headed to the south of France on the back of defeat to St Helens.
The visitors started on the front foot, forcing two goal-line drop-outs in the opening three minutes, and that pressure soon told on the Catalans defence.
Kevin Brown, Tyrone Roberts and Stefan Ratchford combined to send the ball to the right and Toby King sent Mitch Brown over in the right corner. Roberts missed the conversion from the touchline.
Warrington edged further ahead in the 18th minute with Daryl Clark darting over to the left of the posts from acting half after Chris Hill had gone within a metre of the Catalans line. Bryson Goodwin this time did convert the try and extended the Warrington lead to 10 points.
The Dragons were in disarray and Warrington took full advantage, extending their lead further in the 26th minute. Kevin Brown's chip to the right edge was knocked back by Mitch Brown and into the hands of Murdoch-Masila who collected and touched down 10 metres in from the right corner. Goodwin missed the conversion.
Both teams were reduced to 12 men by the interval as Fouad Yaha and Tom Lineham were sent to the sin-bin shortly before the break for fighting.
Shortly after the resumption, Murdoch-Masila added his second try, latching on to Kevin Brown's short pass to score to the right of the posts. Goodwin added the extras to put Warrington 20-0 clear.
Greg Bird thought he had brought Catalans back into the game in the 53rd minute, but the video referee ruled out his try claim for an earlier obstruction by Benjamin Garcia.
Rain continued to fall, gradually becoming heavier throughout the game and affecting the quality of handling from both sides in attacking positions.
A messy last quarter saw the Catalans show more of a threat but without finding an end product, and it meant they failed to register a point at home for the first time in their Super League history.
With five minutes remaining Michael McIlorum and George King were sent to the sin-bin for fighting after an off-the ball incident.
Warrington capped the win four minutes from time with Harvey Livett picking up a loose pass from Kevin Brown and racing over to score under the posts. Goodwin made no mistake with the conversion.