Wigan 40 Catalans Dragons 4: Wigan pull away from danger zone

Wigan continued their impressive revival under the Great Britain coach Brian Noble as their second win of the season over the Super League newcomers took them further away from the foot of the table.

Wigan made a confident start when Mark Calderwood finished off fine approach play by David Vaealiki and Bryan Fletcher. Their continued their early domination and it was no surprise when Fletcher fought his way over for a second converted try.

Catalans, exempt from relegation, could afford to play with a freedom and lack of pressure. Kiwi master Stacey Jones was involved in everything as the Dragons put their game together after a sluggish start.

Wigan broke an intense siege of their own line when their on-loan Australian half-back Michael Dobson kicked a penalty. They had plenty more defending to do before Harrison Hansen dived over with Dobson's conversion extending their interval lead to 20-0.

Though Thomas Bosc opened the Catalans' account five minutes after the restart ,Wigan replied when Pat Richards touched down Dobson's kick. As the Dragons wilted, Vaealiki, Chris Ashton and Higham posted further tries in the final stages to send the 12,500 crowd home happy.

Wigan: Ashton; Richards, McAvoy, Vaealiki, Calderwood; Orr, Dobson; Paleaaesina, Higham, Fielden, Hock, Fletcher, O'Loughlin. Substitutes used: Logan, Godwin, Hansen, Tickle.

Catalans Dragons: Guigue; Murphy, Wilson, Hughes, Bosc; Rudder, Jones; Beattie, Mounis, Chan, Guisset, Hindmarsh, Teixido. Substitutes used: Fellous, Fakir, Rinaldi, Griffi.

Referee: K Kirkpatrick (Warrington)