Super League: Warrington Wolves 20-18 Catalans Dragons
Last Updated: 18/06/16 10:02am
Kurt Gidley's late penalty earned Warrington a slender 20-18 victory in a tense battle against fellow Super League contenders Catalans Dragons.
There was very little to separate the sides all night at the Halliwell Jones Stadium but Gidley's 73rd minute penalty proved decisive.
Catalans led 16-10 at half-time after tries from Julian Bousquet and Fouad Yaha but Warrington replied after the break as Brad Dwyer added to earlier touchdowns from Ryan Atkins and Kevin Penny.
Pat Richards kicked five goals for the Dragons to become the seventh most prolific kicker in Super League history but it was not quite enough.
The match may have ended in tight fashion but the first period was free-flowing and the lead changed hands four times in the opening quarter.
The injury-hit Dragons, who had only four non-Frenchmen in their 17, struck first with a Richards penalty after a high tackle on Jason Baitieri by Ashton Sims.
Warrington replied as Chris Sandow broke the line and sent Atkins away for his 12th try of the season but Bousquet powered under the posts for Catalans just moments later.
Again the lead was short-lived as Lucas Albert knocked on from the kick-off and the Wolves quickly sent the ball wide for Penny to race over.
Penny might have had another but was squeezed into touch and the Dragons struck again when Yaha touched down a well-flighted kick from Albert.
With Richards adding another penalty, the Dragons edged into a six-point lead but the sin-binning of Tony Gigot for a spear tackle on Atkins late in the first half left them vulnerable.
Warrington took advantage of their numerical advantage after the break as Dwyer wrong-footed the Dragons defence and stretched out to touch down. Gidley's second conversion levelled the scores but Richards slotted another penalty soon after to put Catalans back ahead.
Again it did not seem a lead likely to last as Warrington applied sustained pressure. Gigot stole in to break up one attack but a high shot on Sandow kept them on the back foot.
Sandow declined the penalty but the Dragons never seemed likely to escape conceding another after Eloi Pelissier caught Gidley high, even though play went on and Jodie Broughton raced away to touch down. The video referee disallowed the try and Gidley took two points at the other end to level at 18-18.
Warrington continued to press and Daryl Clark thought he had made the critical breakthrough as he forced his way over eight minutes from time. He was denied after a lengthy video review but Warrington were instead awarded a penalty for a ball steal and Gidley decisively bisected the posts from out wide.