Finals Week 1
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 16 l. Les Catalans Dragons 25

2009 engage English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: United Kingdom > National > First Grade Competition: engage English Super League

Catalans hold their nerve to eliminte Wakefield
Sun September 20, 2009
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

Catalans Dragons survived a spirited fightback in tonight's engage Super League elimination play-off with Wakefield Trinity Wildcats to secure a trip to Huddersfield Giants next Friday.

The Dragons opened the scoring in the 30th minute through Vincent Duport and Olivier Elima and Dimitri Pelo added quickfire scores before the break.

Pelo claimed his second seven minutes after the restart and with influential scrum-half Thomas Bosc kicking three goals, Kevin Walters' men were well in control at 22-6.

Yet Wakefield responded impressively and hit back with tries from Luke George (two) and Ryan Atkins to cut the gap to six points with seven minutes remaining to ensure a tense finish.

However, Bosc settled French nerves with a 77th-minute drop-goal and a last-minute penalty.

Wakefield were missing scrum-half Danny Brough due to a hip injury and it showed as they offered precious little genuine attacking threat in the opening period.

Catalans gradually assumed a foothold on proceedings and a series of sweeping moves threatened to cut Wakefield apart.

One such sequence in the 11th minute led to Duport touching down in the right corner but the score was rightly disallowed by video referee Steve Ganson for an earlier obstruction.

Catalans earned their play-off berth with a stirring 24-12 win at St Helens last Friday and they showed enough attacking promise at Belle Vue to suggest they could move one step closer to the grand final on October 10.

They largely pinned Wakefield back in their own half but failed to make their territorial dominance pay and the pendulum gradually swung in the hosts' favour as the opening period progressed.

Atkins posed the Wildcats' most potent threat and a period of sustained home pressure forced Catalans to concede a penalty in the 24th minute.

Brad Drew kicked the goal to ease to edge Wakefield 2-0 ahead but Catalans were not fazed in the slightest and fashioned a delightful try in the 30th minute.

The Dragons played the ball out wide on the last tackle in a sweeping move which saw the ball pass through five pairs of hands and culminated in Duport touching down in the right corner.

Bosc failed to convert from the touchline but it should have got better for Catalans moments later when another promising move was ended by an errant forward pass.

Yet five minutes before the break Catalans had their second try when Adam Mogg brilliantly glided between Jason Demetriou and Drew and ushered Elima over from close range.

Two minutes later, Mogg fed Clint Greenshields and he showed intelligence to send Pelo in at the left corner, while Bosc converted both tries to send his side in at the break with a 16-2 advantage.

It got better for Catalans seven minutes after the break when Pelo showed brute strength to touch down in the left corner for his second try of the match.

Bosc added the extras but Wakefield replied four minutes later when Luke George showed remarkable speed to outstrip a clutch of visiting defenders down the left flank before touching down in the corner.

Drew failed to add the extras but Wakefield claimed their second try in the 61st minute when George found Atkins bursting clear down the left wing.

Drew missed the goal again but Wakefield at least had hope at 10-22, and George went over with six minutes remaining in the same spot he had touched down earlier.

Drew converted but Bosc had the final say three minutes from time with a well-executed drop-goal and then a penalty on the hooter.

Comprehensive 2008 Super League Regular Season Stats

2009 CLUB LINKS
Leeds | St Helens | Huddersfield | Hull KR | Wakefield | Wigan | Castleford
Catalans | Bradford | Warrington | Harlequins | Hull FC | Salford City | Celtic

ROUND BY ROUND LINKS
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9
Round 10 | Round 11 | Round 12 | Round 13 | Round 14 | Round 15 | Round 16 | Round 17 | Round 18
Round 19 | Round 20 | Round 21 | Round 22 | Round 23 | Round 24 | Round 25 | Round 26 | Round 27

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Preview: Wakefield (5) v Catalans (8) - Semi Final #3
Sat September 19, 2009
Wakefield Wildcats will give a late fitness test to goalkicking scrum-half Danny Brough, who picked up a hip injury in last week's 24-10 win over Hull Kingston Rovers.

However, they will definitely have playmaking hooker Brad Drew back for his final home game.

Castleford Tigers-bound forward Steve Snitch and winger Luke George will also return after sitting out the final game of the regular season.

Preview Source: www.superleague.co.uk

WAKEFIELD TRINITY WILDCATS (5) v CATALANS DRAGONS (8)
Date: Saturday 19th September 2009
Venue: Belle Vue Stadium
Kick Off: 8:00pm (UK), 5:00am (AEST)
Referee: Phil Bentham
Wakfield: Blaymire, Atkins, Brough, Demetriou, Drew, Snitch, Wilkes, Grix, Obst , Stosic, Henderson, Winternstein, Leo-Latu, Korkidas, Ferguson, Moore, George, Murphy, Bibb.
Catalans: Baile, Bentley, Bird, Bosc, Carlaw, Casty, Duport, Elima, Ferriol, Gossard, Greenshields, Guisset, Martins, McGuire, Mogg, Pelo, Raguin, Ryles, Touxagas.
Betting: Super League Finals | Wakefield v Catalans

WAKEFIELD TRINITY WILDCATS STATS
Players Used (31): Ryan Atkins, Kyle Bibb, Ricky Bibey, Luke Blake, Damien Blanch, Matt Blaymire, Danny Brough, James Davey, Jason Demetriou, Brad Drew, Dale Ferguson, Luke George, Sean Gleeson, Scott Grix, David Halley, Kevin Henderson, Michael Korkidas, Tevita Leo-Latu, Tony Martin, Richard Moore, Dale Morton, Aaron Murphy, Sam Obst, Matt Petersen, Jay Pitts, Jamie Rooney, Danny Sculthorpe, Steve Snitch, James Stosic, Oliver Wilkes, Frank Winterstein.

Most Games:
27: Matt Blaymire
26: Oliver Wilkes
25: Jason Demetriou

Crowd Information:
Total: Games 26 - 190483 (Average: 7,326)
Home: Games 13 - 78483 (Average: 6,037)
Away: Games 13 - 112000 (Average: 8,615)

Leading Point Scorers:
180: Danny Brough (20)
84: Tony Martin (18)
48: Ryan Atkins (22)
36: Sean Gleeson (23), Scott Grix (22)

Leading Try Scorers:
12: Ryan Atkins (22)
9: Danny Brough (20), Sean Gleeson (23), Scott Grix (22)
8: Matt Blaymire (27)

Leading Goal Scorers:
70: Danny Brough (20)
28: Tony Martin (18)
11: Brad Drew (20)
1: Sam Obst (19)

CATALANS DRAGONS STATS
Players Used (25): Jean Phillipe Baile, Steven Bell, Kane Bentley, Greg Bird, Thomas Bosc, Dane Carlaw, Remi Casty, Jason Croker, Vincent Duport, Olivier Elima, Jamal Fakir, David Ferriol, Cyrille Gossard, Clint Greenshields, Jerome Guisset, Sebastien Martins, Casey McGuire, Adam Mogg, Gregory Mounis, Dimitri Pelo, Shane Perry, Sebastien Raguin, Jason Ryles, Cyril Stacul, Julien Touxagas.

Most Games:
26: Jerome Guisset
25: Jean Phillpe Baile, Remi Casty, Olivier Elima, David Ferriol, Casey McGuire, Gregory Mounis
24: Clint Greenshields, Dimitri Pelo

Crowd Information:
Total: Games 26 - 213839 (Average: 8,225)
Home: Games 13 - 119061 (Average: 9,159)
Away: Games 13 - 94778 (Average: 7,291)

Leading Point Scorers:
157: Thomas Bosc (23)
60: Olivier Elima (25)
56: Dimitri Pelo (24)
44: Jean Phillipe Baile (25), Clint Greenshields (24)

Leading Try Scorers:
15: Olivier Elima (25)
14: Dimitri Pelo (24)
11: Jean Phillipe Baile (25), Clint Greenshields (24)
9: Steven Bell (21)

Leading Goal Scorers:
70: Thomas Bosc (23)
9: Gregory Mounis (25)
3: Greg Bird (19)

Comprehensive 2008 Super League Regular Season Stats

Betting: Super League Finals | Wakefield v Catalans

2009 CLUB LINKS
Leeds | St Helens | Huddersfield | Hull KR | Wakefield | Wigan | Castleford
Catalans | Bradford | Warrington | Harlequins | Hull FC | Salford City | Celtic

ROUND BY ROUND LINKS
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9
Round 10 | Round 11 | Round 12 | Round 13 | Round 14 | Round 15 | Round 16 | Round 17 | Round 18
Round 19 | Round 20 | Round 21 | Round 22 | Round 23 | Round 24 | Round 25 | Round 26 | Round 27

SEASON LINKS
Article | Main | Table | Draw | Stats | Forum | Betting

Tue September 15, 2009
• Your guide to the new engage Super League playoffs
  

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