WOLVES remain undefeated in Super League XVIII after a hard-earned success against physical Catalan Dragons tonight.

Tony Smith’s boys wore down the visitors with a game of patience, striking clinically when opportunities arose in a game that boiled over in the second half.

Once on the front foot in the opening 40 minutes, Wolves constructed a 16-0 lead and fended off a Catalan fightback that at one stage had seen the home advantage trimmed to four points.

But Wolves showed their toughness in taking some blows and firing back on a highly frustrating evening.

The crucial try was a result of great vision, speed and agility, with Rhys Evans acrobatically touching down Richie Myler’s kick to arrest Les Catalans’ rally of points in the 56th minute.

They did well to keep their minds on the job.

Wolves, who went into the game without talisman Lee Briers, lost skipper Adrian Morley with an arm injury after only seven minutes.

But they overcame that setback and did not allow themselves to lose focus or nerve despite the slow play-the-balls and some intimidation from the French that grew as the game wore on.

Several scuffles boiled over in the second half as referee Richard Silverwood lost grip.

It culminated in Brent Webb being sin-binned for a second time, and Ben Westwood joining him after the worst of the brawls with 12 minutes remaining. Brett Hodgson’s penalty goal at that stage gave Wolves a crucial 12-point cushion.

The high penalty count in Wolves’ favour throughout helped them to victory, as did the vociferous home crowd’s backing.

There were no signs of the explosive nature of the game early on.

Although after eight minutes of getting to grips with one another, Catalan paid the price for conceding successive penalties for off side.

A strong drive from Chris Hill paved the way for the ball to be swung right where Joel Monaghan accepted Stef Ratchford’s long pass and twisted in and out of defenders for a try converted from the touchline by Brett Hodgson.

It was just what Wolves needed after losing skipper Adrian Morley to a left arm injury a minute earlier, handing Paul Wood his first run of the season off the bench.

Dragons started to benefit from a few penalties and Ryan Atkins had to be both alert and strong to get his body underneath Damien Blanch as a try threatened.

And then Trent Waterhouse pulled off a try-saving tackle on Mickael Simon after the visitors broke Wolves’ line.

A bit of spark was needed in Wolves’ play again and they found it with the help of a little run-around move creating an overlap on the left.

Although Chris Riley was forced into touch, somehow Wolves were awarded the feed at the scrum and lovely handling through Hodgson and Ratchford gave Joel Monaghan the space to diver over for his second try in the 31st minute.

Hodgson was unable to convert but he got another chance four minutes later after Michael Monaghan’s vision and supply allowed Waterhouse to canter away and with support on either side he elected to turn the ball right for Richie Myler to hare home from 30 metres. This time Hodgson was on target from close range for a 16-0 lead.

Another try looked on when Atkins swooped on a loose Catalan pass and scorched to the corner but Leon Pryce was able to cut him off. Full back Brent Webb was deemed to have prevented a quick Riley play-the-ball on the next tackle and was shown a yellow card.

Nothing came of the attack for Wolves and a penalty aided Catalan’s journey down the field to strike in the second minute of added time.

Riley was caught one-on-one with Blanch after Pryce’s long pass and the visiting winger bulldozed his way through Riley and over the whitewash. Thomas Bosc converted for 16-6 at half time.

An accidental off-side from Rhys Evans allowed the French club to raid successfully in the 49th minute.

They gained another six tackles from a scrum when Myler fumbled a grubber kick and after Pryce was held up short Ian Henderson was quick from dummy half to put Blanch over on the outside of Riley, who was out of position and clearly being targeted by Laurent Frayssinous’ men. Bosc’s conversion cut the gap to just four points.

But Wolves’ response was immediate, on the back of a yearned penalty for holding down tactics.

Myler drilled a grubber kick over the try line and Evans showed remarkable skill to take the speeding ball in the act of diving and touching down with inches to spare before going out of play. Hodgson’s extras made it 22-12 after 56 minutes.

That was when French tempers started to flare and Wolves did not allow themselves to be bullied.

Hodgson’s penalty eased the temperature a little although there was a scare when Seb Taia crossed in the fourth minute of added time.

But Bosc’s missed conversion meant the visitors had left themselves with too much to do as time ran out.