THE journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

The Wire’s path to redemption does not stretch quite that long, but they had to start somewhere. Saturday had exactly that feel about it.

It felt as if they’d agreed to last week’s Challenge Cup heartbreak against Wigan and use it as a turning point. The only question now is whether or not they will look back from here.

Once Jodie Broughton had ensured they were chasing the game early once again, Wolves were faced with a simple choice. Fight, or flight?

They chose the former. It was far from perfect, but nobody can argue that Saturday’s showing was improvement again.

The game was not one of purists of rugby league. It was two sides scratching around for form and confidence and it certainly showed.

However, once Benjamin Jullien and Ryan Atkins had The Wire in front, they rarely looked like losing.

In fact, they were played in patches with a gusto and swagger not befitting of Super League’s least potent attack.

The machine still had its glitches, Mike Cooper’s urgency to play the ball only for nobody to pick it up summed up most of their season in a split second while Richie Myler’s brace was alarmingly simple for him to record.

For the most part, though, Wolves can reflect on some superb performances from certain individuals.

Atkins, who has carried their three-quarter line in recent weeks, got a deserved second to make it 150 tries in Warrington colours, while Daryl Clark and Andre Savelio added energy from the bench.

Kurt Gidley went back to being the on-field general he was for most of last year and, at the other end of the experience spectrum, 18-year-old Will Dagger showed he is growing in confidence with each game he plays.

No handling errors despite some testing Luke Walsh bombs and a couple of scintillating breaks, one of which eventually led to the game-clinching try for Savelio, capped an impressive personal performance.

While this win alone will not save The Wire from the Middle 8s, it is certainly a start.

INTERESTING NOTES:

. Ryan Atkins’ second try was his 150th for Warrington.

. Atkins also moves into seventh on Super League’s all-time try-scoring chart with 169 tries overall.

. Wolves’ seventh home victory over Catalans in a row.

MATCH FACTS:

Super League Round 19

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Warrington Wolves…24 Catalans Dragons…20

Wolves: Will Dagger; Jack Johnson, Jack Hughes, Ryan Atkins, Kevin Penny; Declan Patton, Kurt Gidley; Chris Hill, Brad Dwyer, Mike Cooper, Benjamin Jullien, Joe Philbin, Joe Westerman. Subs: Daryl Clark, Ashton Sims, Andre Savelio, Sam Wilde.

Dragons: Tony Gigot; Jodie Broughton, Iain Thornley, Vincent Duport, Fouad Yaha; Luke Walsh, Richie Myler; Sam Moa, Paul Aiton, Remi Casty, Louis Anderson, Ben Garcia, Jason Baitieri. Subs: Thibaud Margalet, Julian Bousquet, Mickael Simon, Alrix Da Costa.

Scoring: Broughton try, 2mins, 0-4; Jullien try, 7mins, Gidley goal, 6-4; Atkins try, 22mins, 10-4; Myler try, 30mins, Walsh goal, 10-10; Gidley penalty, 40mins, 12-10; Gidley penalty, 59mins, 14-10; Atkins try, 60mins, 18-10; Myler try, 71mins, Walsh goal, 18-16; Savelio try, 79mins, Gidley goal, 24-16.

Penalties: Wolves 11 Dragons 6.

Sin bin: Gigot (dissent) 79mins.

Referee: Phil Bentham.

Attendance: 9,798.

Guardian man of the match: Ryan Atkins.