CATALANS Dragons proved to be Warrington Wolves’ kryptonite again as The Wire’s five-game winning run was brought to an end.

Just as they did in Perpignan in Round One, the French side were victorious at The Halliwell Jones Stadium to puncture the momentum of Sam Burgess’ side.

Warrington gave themselves too much to do after a nightmare start to the game which saw them fall 18-0 down and lose Paul Vaughan to the sin bin inside 13 minutes.

Tom Davies, Tom Johnstone and Ben Garcia touched down for the visitors but The Wire raised hopes of a fightback before the break, with Zane Musgrove and Toby King touching down to bring the deficit back to six points.

However, a similarly poor start to the second period proved costly as Cesar Rouge and Johnstone’s second put Catalans back in command.

Wire would not go away and after James Harrison’s score, George Williams’ try brought them back to within four points and raised hopes of an incredible comeback win.

Les Dracs held them at bay, however, and sealed the victory late on through Jordan Abdull’s score.

Warrington 24 Catalans 32 - post-match reaction

> THE FINAL WORD: Vital that lessons are learned from horror start

> THE MORNING AFTER: Key Wire talking points as Dragons fly off with victory

> STAT ATTACK: Quality over quantity, and did Wire make enough of their opportunities?

> 'We gave ourselves too much to do' - Burgess' post-match thoughts on Catalans loss

> Two Wire props ruled out of Leeds trip and a nervous wait on another

> WIRE SOCIAL: Immediate reaction from fans to Easter defeat

> Re-live the action as it happened here

Match facts:

Super League, Round Six

Saturday, March 30, 2024

Warrington Wolves...24 Catalans Dragons...32

Wolves: Matt Dufty; Josh Thewlis, Rodrick Tai, Toby King, Matty Ashton; George Williams, Leon Hayes; Paul Vaughan, Danny Walker, James Harrison, Adam Holroyd, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Ben Currie. Subs: Joe Philbin, Zane Musgrove, Jordy Crowther, Sam Powell. 18th man: Matty Nicholson

Dragons: Cesar Rouge; Tom Davies, Arthur Romano, Matt Ikuvalu, Tom Johnstone; Jordan Abdull, Ugo Tison; Romain Navarrete, Michael McIlorum, Julian Bousquet, Tariq Sims, Mike McMeeken, Ben Garcia. Subs: Paul Seguier, Bayley Sironen, Chris Satae, Jordan Dezaria. 18th man: Matthieu Laguerre

Scoring: Davies try, 5mins, Abdull goal, 0-6; Johnstone try, 7mins, Abdull goal, 0-12; Garcia try, 13mins, Abdull goal, 0-18; Musgrove try, 27mins, Thewlis goal, 6-18; King try, 33mins, Thewlis goal, 12-18; Rouge try, 44mins, Abdull goal, 12-24; Johnstone try, 50mins, 12-28; Harrison try, 53mins, Thewlis goal, 18-28; Williams try, 58mins, Thewlis goal, 24-28; Abdull try, 79mins, 24-32

Sin bin: Vaughan (11mins, dangerous tackle)

Penalties: Wolves 6 Dragons 5

Referee: Jack Smith

Attendance: 11,214