Wigan beat Catalans to go level on points at top

Betfred Super League

Catalans (12) 18

Tries: Yaha, Fages, Romano Goals: Mourgue 3

Wigan (12) 26

Tries: Field, Forber, Nsemba, Keighran Goals: Keighran 5

Wigan Warriors maintained their increasing power complete Catalans Dragons arsenic they scored 4 tries successful Perpignan to move level connected points astatine nan apical of Super League pinch leaders Hull KR.

Rovers and Wigan are tied connected 38 points from 24 matches - 4 clear of their nearest rivals Warrington - and only nan Hull side's superior points quality will abstracted them going into adjacent Friday's gathering betwixt nan 2 astatine nan Brick Community Stadium.

After going down to a converted Jai Field try, nan Dragons concisely turned it information pinch converted efforts from nine grounds effort scorer Fouad Yaha and Theo Fages.

But 3 converted tries successful 9 minutes either broadside of nan break from Tom Forber, Junior Nsemba and Adam Keighran turned it information for a Wigan broadside boosted by nan return of talisman Bevan French aft 8 games out.

Keighran added a punishment for an individual 14-point haul and a three-score cushion for his squad astatine 26-12 earlier Catalans took advantage of Kruise Leeming's precocious sin-binning to transverse again done Arthur Romano.

But, though Arthur Mourgue landed his 3rd conversion and nan Dragons countered powerfully again, Wigan held patient to gain their 4th consecutive triumph successful this fixture.

Wigan past mislaid to Catalans astatine Magic Weekend successful Newcastle successful June 2023, having won 34-0 successful Perpignan a twelvemonth ago, edged nan Grand Final 10-2 astatine Old Trafford past October past won 30-8 astatine home erstwhile nan 2 sides past met successful early May.

The visitors were besides nearer afloat spot arsenic they brought successful winger Abbas Miski, stand-in skipper Kaide Ellis, connected his 100th appearance, and cardinal Aussie half-back French.

It was Ellis who group things successful mobility pinch a awesome offload earlier Jake Wardle jinked distant to trigger nan opener connected 9 minutes, arsenic Keighran supplied nan linking walk wrong to group Field clear to gallop over.

But conscionable six minutes later Yaha went connected a 60-yard jinking solo tally to people successful nan near area and, by nan 20th minute, Catalans led erstwhile Liam Marshall appeared to beryllium tackled early by ex-Wigan helping Davies arsenic he fielded a explosive - and that freed St Helens aged boy Fages to tally successful and score.

A neat portion of opportunism from scrum-half Forber tied it up again erstwhile he darted complete from a play-the-ball for his first Wigan effort to level astatine nan break.

Nsemba past showed emblematic solo powerfulness to spell complete from adjacent range, to which Keighran past added nan extras earlier crossing nan statement himself.

A neat move involving Field and Marshall, who coolly passed backmost inside, freed Keighran to nether nan posts.

He kicked some that and a punishment to seemingly settee it earlier nan Dragons’ precocious flurry – but Wigan had already done enough.

Catalans: Rouge; Davies, Romano, Laguerre, Yaha; Mourgue, Fages; Navarrete, Da Costa, Bousquet, McMeeken, Sironen, Garcia.

Interchanges: Seguier, Satae, Dezaria, Aispuro-Bichet.

Wigan: Field; Miski, Eckersley, Wardle, Marshall; French, Keighran; Havard, Leeming, Thompson, Walters, Nsemba, Ellis.

Interchanges: Byrne, Mago, Dupree, Forber.

Sin-bin: Leeming (72)

Referee: Chris Kendall.