Warriors demolish the Dragons

[josie andrews]

Match Report as Wigan Warriors beat Catalans Dragons at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.

Abbas Miski scored three of six Wigan tries as the Warriors closed the gap at the top of the table.
FT | Catalans Dragons 0-34 Wigan Warriors.

Wigan Warriors produced an emphatic performance to defeat Catalans Dragons 34-0 at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.

The Warriors dominated the top of the table clash as tries from Abbas Miski (x2), Toby King and Bevan French built a 22-0 lead at the break.

Miski completed his hat-trick at the start of the second half, as Harry Smith surpassed 500 points for the Warriors in the victory.

Report

Tyler Dupree, who was introduced from the bench after three minutes as a blood replacement for Liam Byrne, produced a big hit on Adam Keighran to force a knock on. From the scrum the Warriors worked the ball wide to Jai Field who broke the line, but the Dragons scrambled well to keep the fullback out.

The Warriors’ strong start continued as Miski and French combined to force a drop out, before a delicate kick in behind from French was touched down by Miski to open the scoring after 10 minutes.

The hosts came forward for the first time after 20 minutes, however, a fantastically timed tackle from Kai Pearce-Paul initially halted the attack, before Miski stood firm on the final tackle to bring Keighran into touch metres out.

The Warriors turned defence into attack as a perfectly weighted kick from Smith was collected in the air by Miski who offloaded to King for a simple score in the corner. The kick from Smith was accurate to increase the lead to 10 points after 25 minutes.

Despite missing out on the opportunity to add two points from the tee after half an hour, the Warriors added a third try before the interval after French burst through the line to ground. Smith was successful once more with an inch-perfect kick from the touchline.

The Warriors rounded off a fantastic first half performance with a fourth try on the hooter as French once again broke the line before offloading to Miski for his second of the match. Smith was accurate with the kick to send Wigan into the break 22-0 ahead.

Wigan restarted strongly, and after a handling error from the Dragons presented the Warriors with possession, the ball was worked wide to Field who set Miki up for his hat-trick in the corner. Smith added the extras from the tee to increase the lead to 28-0 after 48 minutes.

The Warriors continued to defend firmly to keep the Dragons out, and their hard work was rewarded once more in attack as Smith’s pass was guided into the path of Jake Wardle who was able to pick up the loose ball and touch down between the sticks. Smith added the extras to surpass 500 Wigan points.

Despite a late penalty being awarded to the Dragons, a massive hit from Byrne forced the knock on as the Warriors completed a fifth win in a row while recording the biggest margin of victory in Perpignan.

Catalans Dragons: Sam Tomkins, Tom Davies, Arthur Romano, Adam Keighran, Tom Johnstone, Mitchell Pearce, Tyrone May, Mike McMeeken, Micky McIlorum, Romain Navarrete, Matt Whitley, Paul Seguier, Benjamin Garcia.

Interchange: Arthur Mourgue, Julian Bousquet, Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Manu Ma’u.

18th Player: Mickael Goudemand.

Tries: N/A

Goals: N/A

Wigan Warriors: Jai Field, Abbas Miski, Toby King, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Bevan French, Harry Smith, Liam Byrne, Brad O’Neill, Kaide Ellis, Kai Pearce-Paul, Liam Farrell, Morgan Smithies.

Interchange: Sam Powell, Patrick Mago, Junior Nsemba, Tyler Dupree.

18th Player: Joe Shorrocks.

Tries: Miski (9′, 39′, 48′), King (24′), French (36′), Wardle (76′).

Goals: Smith (5/7).

Referee: Liam Moore.

https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2023/08/ ... h-dragons/

[Suzieb]

Did Dupree pass his hia

[josie andrews]

Peet: Very confident

Matt Peet praised his side after Wigan Warriors’ massive win over Catalans Dragons at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.

Peet: “We are very confident that if our performances are at the right level then we are capable of achieving things.”

FT | Catalans Dragons 00-34 Wigan Warriors.

Matt Peet praised his Wigan Warriors side after a massive victory over Catalans Dragons at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.

Reflecting on the performance, Peet said: “I just told the lads how proud I was and we spoke on the things that made me proud. There were a lot of stand outs in what was a well balanced performance which is what you need when you come here. We’ve learnt a lot from that performance which is definitely a step in the right direction.”

Speaking on the contest, Peet said: “It seems like a massive turn over but really it’s fine margins – there wasn’t as much difference as the score suggests. We started the match the better, got control and managed to keep it with a disciplined performance and some excellent kicking.”

The Warriors remain second in the table while closing the gap to two points on leaders Catalans. On the league standings, Peet said: “If we keep winning we’ll put ourselves in a decent spot, but that’s the same for Catalans and St Helens. We are very confident that if our performances are at the right level then we are capable of achieving things.”

Praising the preparation ahead of the trip to Perpignan, Peet said: “The performance staff did a great job this week in preparing the team and it showed today – full credit goes to them.”

The Warriors were backed by a vocal travelling support, and on the fans, Peet said: “The fact we’ve got so many fans who invest money and build a holiday around coming to watch this team – we owe it to them. I know today they’ll have enjoyed it as much as we have.”

Wigan are back in action at the DW Stadium on Friday 1 September against Salford Red Devils. Tickets are available to purchase from the DW Stadium Ticket Office or online HERE.

https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2023/08/ ... confident/

[pedro]

Did Dupree pass his hia

no

[Suzieb]

Cheers

[josie andrews]

Matty Peet hails Warriors' win against Catalans Dragons as 'one of our better performances'

Wigan coach Matty Peet refused to speak out against club legend Sam Tomkins over an incident which left Brad O’Neill with suspected broken ribs, saying only, “everyone saw what happened”.

As the Warriors shocked Catalans 34-0 at State Gilbert Brutus, Peet revealed forward O’Neill needed painkillers to return to the field after halftime.

In the 33rd minute, Tomkins appeared to fear a prowler-style challenge from O’Neill as he was held upright in a tackle.

While the 213-game ex-Warrior was facing away from the main grandstand and the television cameras, O’Neill reeled out of the collision and appeared to complain to referee Liam Moore he had been kneed by the Dragons skipper.

I’m not going to comment on it … everyone saw what happened,” Peet told Wigan Today.

“I don’t think it’s my place to say anything.

Brad has gone for X-rays. We needled him up to get him back out there in the second half but it was no good. He’s got a rib issue and we’ll find out the seriousness of it in the coming days I guess."

Peet’s comments – while subdued – will leave the disciplinary committee in no doubt that they are expected to review the incident.

Tomkins, 34, retires at the end of the year and with the League Leaders Shield beckoning, it could be an emotional issue over the next week as the tackle is investigated.

The coach wasn’t as rapturous in his praise of the crushing win as many fans and media, saying only, “I’d say it was one of our better performances this year, yes.”

Peet – who told TV viewers travelling fans were “always much better when they’ve been on the drink all day” – said there had been no push to prove a point beyond improving on last week’s performance against Hull FC.

Asked if Wigan could still win the League Leaders Shield, he said: “What I do know is that it’s good to get a home play-off and to get a home play-off you aim to finish in the top two.

We can’t control what other sides do but if we keep winning, we are a chance of finishing in the top two. If that also means Catalans drop some points … I’m not about to predict that is going to happen.”

Attacking with defence and restricting Catalans’ attacking options with judicious kicking were key pillars in Perpigan, he said.

“They are known for their back three and getting momentum off them and for their spine, aren’t they?” Peet said.

“We wanted to impose ourselves on them and on the game, that’s what he set out to do.

The good sides, the sides who finish high up the table, they kick well and they chase those kicks well. So yes, that was a big part of what we tried to do.”

On TV, he said of heavy defeats on previous visits to Gilbert Brutus: “We’ve learned a lot from that, we’ve learned from what they did to us at Magic and also from every game.

“We’ve learned this week from when we don’t look after the ball and we don’t play a certain way. I thought today was a step in the right direction.

“The fact we’ve got so many fans who invest money and build a holiday around coming to watch this team – we owe it to them. We don’t miss that and I dare say they would have enjoyed that as much as we have.”

https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby- ... es-4270233

[josie andrews]

Bevan French 'more than happy' with Warriors' win against Catalans

Player of the match Bevan French has shared his thoughts on Warriors’ astonishing shutout of Catalans.

“We’ve been speaking about trying to put a quality performance like that together for quite some time,” he said.

“We’re more than happy that we’ve done that mainly. It’s the cherry on top that we’ve done it against such a quality side.”

Livewire half French was everywhere at Stade Gilbert Brutus, setting up tries with his boot, his hands and bagging a crucial four-pointer himself just before halftime with trademark pace as Wigan stayed in the race for the League Leaders Shield.

We knew it was going to be tough and, you know, they’re at top of the table for a reason,” he told Sky. “Especially travelling over here to France and getting in front of their crowd, it’s a good feeling.

Not only to do it against such a quality side but the way we played.. …”

Dragons coach Steve McNamara cut a disconsolate figure at full-time.

Asked what went wrong, he responded: “Well, everything.

We got beaten in every aspect, right from the start of the game right through to the end of the game … completely off the mark there in every part of our performance.

“Wigan were great. Credit to them.

“We were close last week to where we needed to be and then this week we were beaten in every area right from the start

“Obviously we had to try and fix a few things at halftime if we possibly could but we just weren’t good enough to do it today.”

https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby- ... ns-4270236