Super League: Table toppers Catalans Dragons extend advantage with crushing Salford win
- Planet Sport writer
- 29 July 2023
Catalans Dragons enhanced their position as Super League leaders.
Catalans Dragons opened up a four-point lead at the top of Super League as they romped to a 42-0 victory against depleted Salford at Stade Gilbert Brutus.
Red Devils coach Paul Rowley was without a number of first-teamers, including star forward King Vuniyayawa, who was turned away on arrival in France because of visa issues.
Salford only had 18 players to choose from but stood up strongly to a brutal early assault in the opening quarter.
However, Australian centre Adam Keighran could not be stopped from collecting a short grubber kick over the line by Michael McIlorum in the 20th minute to open the scoring and he converted his own try for 6-0.
Full-back Ryan Brierley and stand-off Brodie Croft tried their best to put the Red Devils on the front foot but the Dragons resisted any attempt to break their line.
Wigan-bound Keighran scored his second try 10 minutes later when he followed another kick over the line, this time from stand-off Tyrone May, and again he added the conversion to make it 12-0.
Winger Tom Johnstone got in on the act as he chased a Sam Tomkins kick to score in the left corner five minutes from half-time, with Keighran unable to convert from the touchline.
In the last minute of the first half May made an explosive 15-metre dash over the line to ground a Tomkins kick and put the Dragons firmly in control at 22-0.
Coach Rowley kept Salford's players on the pitch during half-time to give them a breather, but it was not long before the Dragons turned up the heat again.
Keighran added his fourth goal of the night with a penalty three minutes into the second half after a high shot on Dragons prop Jordan Dezaria.
And on the next play Keighran released Johnstone for a sprint to the left corner for his second try of the game to put the home side out of sight at 28-0.
May then found half-back partner Mitchell Pearce after breaking the Salford line on halfway and he passed to prop Tiaki Chan who crossed the line, Tomkins taking over kicking duties with the conversion.
Winger Tom Davies was sin-binned on the hour for holding down in the tackle after a breakaway run by Salford hooker Andy Ackers and tempers began to fray in the heat.
Tomkins cooled things down with a 68th-minute penalty and then spiced it up again with a try five minutes later, which he converted, taking him past the 1,500 career-points milestone.
