A Daryl Clark double helps Warrington reach the Challenge Cup semi finals

Credit: Eithan Boulter-Ashcroft

A first half brace from the Warrington’s number nine set Steve Price’s side on route to a second victory over the Catalan Dragons in the space of two weeks.

The Wire came into the game as one of the in-form sides – unbeaten in their last five games following wins over the Dragons and Hull Kingston Rovers in recent weeks. Everything wasn’t plain sailing for the side in Primrose and Blue as Stefan Ratchford pulled up with a tight groin in the warm up which resulted in Blake Austin coming into the side at the last minute.

The change didn’t affect the Wolves as they raced into a 14-point lead. Clark backed up a Toby King break to open the scoring before the 28-year-old was on hand again to take an offload from Chris Hill before diving over. Another Gareth Widdop penalty extended the lead to 16 before Steve McNamara’s side finally got on the board through a Mike McMeeken try but that was as good as it got for the side from the South of France.

Warrington were forced to dig deep in defence late in the games as they had to defend five sets on their own line. The excellent defensive display impressed their head coach.

“I thought those five sets on our try-line at the back end of the game, when they were coming hard at us. We showed a lot of determination and resilience to be able to keep them out.”

Clark has been a man in the headlines this week with a move to NRL side Gold Coast Titans a hot topic of conversation, but his performance on the field has shown he is fully committed to the task in hand this season at Warrington.

Steve Price was full of praise for his standout player in the post-match press conference.

“He is a quality player; I love everything about him. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is an important member of our team”.

With their victory over Catalan on Friday night the Wolves have now reached the Challenge Cup semi finals in the previous four seasons, winning the competition in 2019. A trophy Steve Price will have in his sights in his final season in charge.

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