Savelio spoils the day for new Catalans boss

New Catalans coach Steve McNamara lost his first match in charge of the Dragons as the Warrington Wolves claimed a hard-earned 24-16 Betfred Super League victory to keep their top eight hopes alive.

The former England and Bradford coach made the move from the New Zealand Warriors to the South of France on a two-and-a-half year contract to replace Laurent Frayssinous.

Warrington’s victory saw them leapfrog the Dragons into ninth but last season’s losing Grand Finalists are three points behind Wigan and Huddersfield with four games remaining before the league splits.

Ryan Atkins played a key role in Warrington’s win with two tries and an assist for Benjamin Jullien, with Andre Savelio also touching down. Kurt Gidley landed four goals.

In reply, Richie Myler scored two tries against his former club and Jodie Broughton also touched down. Luke Walsh kicked two goals.

McNamara said: “To see us compete and give ourselves a chance of winning the game up until the last three or four minutes means we have moved a step in the right direction. It’s only one step and a small step, but it’s certainly a right step. It was a tough start, not the highest quality of games, but I saw a side that showed a lot more resilience than over the last couple of weeks and managed to stay in the contest.”