Warrington lost a third successive Super League game on Saturday night as Catalans Dragons came out on top in Perpignan to leave Wire sweating over the security of 2nd place after a result which confirms St Helens as League Leaders' Shield winners. Sadly, the game was not the main talking point of the evening, after some ugly scenes on and off the pitch marred the whole occasion.
First of all, I'm going to say this: I won't be talking about the incidents in detail in either of my post-match pieces. I wasn't at the game, I don't know for sure what was said by who or what happened first. As I wasn't there, I have no place to be making assumptions about the guilty or innocent parties - it's just a shame that some people online haven't done the same.
Warrington named the same starting lineup as the one that secured a place in the Challenge Cup Final last week. There were two changes on the interchange bench though - Ben Murdoch-Masila and Lama Tasi dropped out, with Harvey Livett and Sitaleki Akauola coming in.
Catalans made a bright start to the game and forced Wire into defensive sets with good play from Sam Tomkins, in a clear tactical attempt to drain the away side's energy. Good defending from Warrington prevented the tryline from being breached, and Wire then forced a knock-on from Mickael Simon. A Patton grubber kick was collected well by Tomkins to prevent Wire scoring from their first attacking set, and then Tony Gigot landed an excellent 40/20 to pin Warrington in even more. A silly penalty for offside at the 40/20 tap was conceded, and Catalans elected to go for the two points, which Tomkins comfortably kicked to open the scoring.
An attempted offload from Daryl Clark ended up as a knock-on and in the next set, James Child produced two yellow cards, sending Chris Hill and Michael McIlorum to the sin-bin, Hill for a high tackle and McIlorum for his reaction. Tomkins kicked the resulting penalty at goal to double the Dragons lead to 4-0. A brilliant step from Samisoni Langi looked to have got him through, but Stefan Ratchford made a superb try-saving tackle to prevent the lead from being extended. Jake Mamo once again spilled a high ball, giving the French side another set of six, though Tomkins was penalised for obstructing a Wire player, giving the boys a breather. A good attacking set from Warrington followed, with a great run from dummy-half by Daryl Clark, and then a good kick from Ratchford got Tom Lineham in, and Lineham forced a drop-out.
The worst moment of the game for Wire came in the 34th minute when Blake Austin made a great break and got close to the line, but rolled his ankle and stayed down. Austin, who has played every game this season, was carried off the pitch. With St Helens, Wigan and Wembley in the next 20 days, everyone is eager to know the extent of the marquee man's injury. Harvey Livett came on and went to six, with Declan Patton still at seven. Good play from Daryl Clark was followed by some outstanding centre work from Toby King. King drew two Catalans defenders in before sending a delightful pass to Mamo, who touched down with ease in the corner. Ratchford couldn't convert from out wide, and the scores were level at 4-4.
Some unpleasant play from both teams resulted in a few penalties from either side, before Joe Philbin gave away two for high tackles in quick succession, and was smartly withdrawn, with Akauola coming on. Wire held out well for most of the resulting set, but an excellent ball wide from Tomkins ound Fouad Yaha, who scored in the corner. Tomkins did not convert the try, and the French side were 8-4 in front. Some more aggressive and niggly play happened, before the half-time hooter sounded, with Wire four points behind.
It was an outstanding start to the second-half for Wire. A glorious pass from dummy-half by Daryl Clark sent Hill crashing over for a try under the sticks, which Ratchford converted for an 8-10 lead. The lead lasted just nine minutes though. A Tomkins ball went to ground, but fell nicely in front of David Mead, who picked it up and beat the flimsy challenge of Patton. A top-class goal from Tomkins made it 14-10 in favour of the Dragons. Another high tackle, this time from Patton, gave Tomkins the chance to nab another goal, and that he did, for a 16-10 advantage. A change of shape for Wire saw Mamo to full back, Ratchford to six, King out wide and Jack Hughes at centre.
Some shocking play from Catalans left Daryl Clark hurt after he received a knee to the face, and Wire were given a penalty. From it, the ball was sprayed out wide, but it went to the floor and was picked up by Mead. Mead ran the length of the field and looked certain to score, but Mamo made a terrific covering tackle. In one of the most ludicrous acts I've ever seen on a rugby league pitch, Mamo then ripped the ball out of Mead's hands and threw it into touch. After doing something brilliant, he opted to do something needless and senseless which couldn't possibly have any benefit. He was sent to the sin-bin, and Wire were down to 12 men again.
Yet another penalty was conceded, this time from Lineham when he moved off the mark before playing the ball. This gave Tomkins a chance to grab another two points, and the lead was now 18-10. Matt Whitley scored a simple try when the ball was sent out wide and Catalans made the extra man tell. An exquisite conversion from Tomkins made it 24-10, which became 30-10 a few moments later when McIlorum's grubber was touched down by Gigot, who saw his try converted.
A few penalties in Wire's favour right at the end erupted into a mass brawl with the players, which then translated into some trouble in the stands. Like I said, I'm not going to comment on the incidents with the fans. James Child put in an awful refereeing performance all day and didn't do enough to prevent or stop the brawl. The brawl saw Mamo sin-binned again for headbutting Tomkins, who was sent off, along with McIlorum.
In terms of the game, discipline was the major issue today. For Mamo to be sin-binned twice in one match is appalling, particularly as the first incident was so ridiculous. I feel extremely disappointed in Hill, who was also sin-binned and displayed shocking leadership all day - not for the first time this season. Lineham, Philbin and Patton also found themselves having words with the referee in a completely ill-disciplined performance from Wire. Thinking about our play, there was an obvious lack of creativity without Austin on the field, though Ratchford and Daryl Clark put in typically good performances, and I actually thought Jason Clark did well too. However, we made too many errors in possession which cost us, while Mamo at the back continues to be more and more disastrous week by week.
All in all, another very poor day in Super League for Wire. We now find ourselves 12 points behind St Helens, who have now guaranteed themselves top spot, though our grip over 2nd place is as loose as ever - Hull FC are just two points behind us, Wigan and Catalans are four adrift, and alarmingly we are only six points ahead of 6th and 7th placed Salford and Castleford. With just five Super League games left, we need to get some form and get some wins on the board to secure 2nd place and a home match in the playoffs, but at the minute, it's hard to see where our next Super League win is coming from, particularly with St Helens and Wigan our next two fixtures, and the possibility of playing these games without Blake Austin.
A very concerning part of the season. Five losses in the last seven - the two wins were against Wakefield and London.
It's always our year.
Daniel (@aloosewire)
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