Sam Burgess could be forgiven if he woke up this morning, took one look at this game and decided to stick in the Sydney sun.
The South Sydney assistant has held talks with Warrington about their vacant head coach position. The ex-England captain, 34, is the bookies new favourite to take control after Daryl Powell’s sacking on Sunday. But as Super League leaders Catalans eased to a comfortable win tonight it’s clear there’s going to be no easy fix for whoever gets the gig.
Burgess came to the fore after Aussie Justin Holbrook today dramatically rejected Wolves’ lucrative four-year deal. The ex-St Helens chief - recently sacked by Gold Coast Titans - admitted he was “all but gone” back to the UK to join the troubled outfit. But he had a late change of heart citing family reasons and instead took up a three-year deal to be a Sydney Roosters assistant from 2024.
Warrington, who have now lost nine of their last ten games, were 18-0 down inside the opening half hour. They had started brightly enough and Catalans captain Ben Garcia was fortunate to stay on after a fifth minute ‘spear’ tackle on Matty Nicholson. Les Dracs also needed Sam Tomkins to produce a try-saving tackle on the impressive back-row.
But the hosts - Aussie full-back Matt Dufty in particular - soon imploded. His forward pass ruined a great chance for Josh Thewlis and then he spilled a high kick on his own line under no pressure. From there, Mitchell Pearce aimed another bomb which Adam Keighran claimed for Catalans’ opening try.
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They claimed their second almost immediately when Thewlis spilled trying to play the ball in front of his own sticks. Catalans, who shrugged off the late withdrawal of England hooker Michael McIlorum, shifted right for Tom Davies to score. And - after Dufty’s ball steal gifted Keighran an easy two points - some brilliant handling once more saw Pearce finish off.
Warrington Wolves’ Thomas Mikaele is tackled during the Betfred Super League match at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington. (PA) (PA)Prop Thomas Mikaele, who rejoined from Gold Coast this week, did spark Warrington up from the bench. And Ben Currie scored his 99th career try, angling in off George Wiliams’ disguised pass in the 37th minute. Stefan Ratchford converted but the Warrington captain did not return for the second period.
Loose forward Jordan Crowther, making his debut after joining from Wakefield, played as a makeshift centre. The visitors never looked troubled and Tyrone May set up tries for Matt Whitley and Mark Ikuvalu with simple grubber kicks before Thewlis’ late consolation.
Catalans boss Steve McNamara said: “On Daryl, there’s 12 of us at the start line - Super League coaches - and there’s always odds on who gets sacked first. There’s heaps of pressure and it’s a very, very difficult job.
"Invariably, we lose one, two or even three or four along the way. As a fellow coach it’s disappointing and we feel for each other in these instances. But tonight we were really efficient, composed and played a good all-round game in potentially very tricky, dangerous conditions coming here against a team packed with individual players that can do some sensational things. We had our own issues, too, with Micky McIlorum pulling out with illness just before the bus left the hotel so I was really pleased.”
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