| Catalans Dragons (20) 38 |
| Tries: Mourgue, Garcia 2, Johnstone 2, Romano Goals: Mourgue 7 |
| Leigh Leopards (18) 30 |
| Tries: Chamberlain 2, Charnley, Ipape, Briscoe Goals: Reynolds 5 |
Super League leaders Catalans Dragons overcame fellow high-flyers Leigh Leopards in a thriller to move two points clear at the top of the table.
Tom Johnstone’s 100th Super League try, plus scores from Arthur Mourgue and Benjamin Garcia, had Catalans cruising.
But an Ed Chamberlain double and Josh Charnley’s try in response meant the Dragons only led 20-18 at half-time.
An Arthur Romano try and a second each from Garcia and Johnstone sealed it to end Leigh’s nine-game winning run.
The English side led briefly late in the second half, with Edwin Ipape and Tom Briscoe grabbing scores after Romano went over, but the Dragons prevailed with two tries in the final 14 minutes.
Two tries in the first four minutes from Mourgue and Garcia had put the Perpignan club in a commanding position before the Leopards even had a chance of troubling the competition’s front runners.
Full-back Mourgue converted both tries and then slotted over a penalty as Steve McNamara’s side produced a scintillating display in the opening stages.
Johnstone linked up with Romano to bring up his century of English top-flight tries with what was his 19th score of the campaign.
Leigh’s response was as devastating as the hosts’ start, with Chamberlain touching down twice in seven minutes before Charnley matched Johnstone with his 19th Super League score of the season to make it 20-18.
Romano went over from close range immediately after the break to give the hosts the ideal start to the second half, only for Ipape to hit back after an excellent defensive display from the visitors kept them in touch.
Briscoe’s try with 22 minutes left put third-placed Leigh ahead for the first time, but Garcia forced his way over and Johnstone took his Super League try tally to 101 – and his season total to 20 – to deny the Leopards their first league win against the French club.
‘Reality check’ for Catalans – reaction
Catalans Dragons boss Steve McNamara said:
“I liked our start and our end but not the middle. We showed great tenacity after nearly throwing the game away to go on and win it.
“It was a great reality check for us. Lots of things have been going well for us in the last few weeks – we go to Magic and everyone talks about our performance, then we beat Hull KR here and it’s all going well.
“Today has given a real focus and something tangible to work on because our defence was just not acceptable for a team in the position we are in the competition.
“We won’t stay there if we continue to defend like that and it’s something we have to focus on right away.”
Leigh Leopards coach Adrian Lam said:
“It’s frustrating, really. We focused all week on getting our start right and we messed it up, but to give them a 20-point start and pin that back by half-time was incredible and we showed a lot of courage.
“I’ve got mixed emotions – frustration but pride at our courage and character, we hung in there to give ourselves a chance of winning it with just 12 minutes to go.
“If a couple of things went our way at the end we could have snuck the game.”
Catalans Dragons: Mourgue, Davies, Romano, Keighran, Johnstone, May, Tomkins, Garcia, McMeeken, Seguier, Bousquet, McIlorum, Navarrete.
Interchanges: Goudemand, Ikuvalu, Dezaria, Ma’u.
Leigh Leopards: O’Brien, Briscoe, Leutele, Hanley, Charnley, Reynolds, Lam, Mulhern, Ipape, Amone, Chamberlain, Holmes, Asiata.
Interchanges: Wilde, Davis, Mellor, Norman.
Referee: Liam Moore.