The final game of the round saw fifth placed Salford Red Devils make the long journey south to play the Catalans Giants who started the game in sixth pace but knew that a win would lift them above their opponents.
Salford had their eyes on getting to twenty-four points to lift them above St Helens and onto the same total as Hull KR and Warrington Wolves in second spot in the table, a loss for the Dragons would leave them anxiously looking over their shoulders at Leeds with a play-off place still at risk.
The bookies gave the Dragons a six-point handicap on the coupon making then slight favourites to pick up the points.
It took just five minutes for the Dragons to open the scoring but it took a bit of good fortune to get the scoreboard moving. A Theo Fages kick from within his own half took a ricochet into the hands of a Dragons player who broke downfield before passing inside to César Rougé to sprint for the line and ground. Arthur Mourgue added the conversion for a 6-0 lead after six minutes.
Two minutes later the Dragons had a try denied for offside but there seemed to be no stopping the home side as they went in again on eleven minutes, Fouad Yaha collecting a Fages kick to the corner, and hacking the ball forward for Arthur Romano to pick up and bounce over the line. Mourgue added the touchline conversion for 12-0.
Salford stemmed the tide after a very slow start and took the game to the Dragons, but the home side absorbed the Red Devils attack and on twenty-eight a delightful Fages grubber was collected and scored by Romano for his second of the game. Mourgue was on target with the conversion for 18-0.
Mourgue extended the lead by two points with a forty-sixth minute penalty to make the mountain just a little steeper for Salford who just couldn’t find their way through the determined Catalans defence.
The Catalans Dragons never looked in any danger of losing this game after a turbo charged opening seven minutes which saw them sprint to a 12-0 victory and stun the visitors who then spent the rest of the game trying to find a single chink in their defences to get themselves on the scoreboard. The Dragons leapfrog Salford into fifth spot in the table, both sides now with a four point buffer inside the play-off places.
Catalans Dragons: Mourgue (4/4 G), Davies, Romano (2T), Ikuvalu, Yaha, Rougé (T), Fages, Navarrete, McIlorum, Bousquet, Sims, Sironen, Garcia. Subs: Da Costa, Séguier, Satae, Dezaria. 18th Man: Aispuro-Bichet.
Salford Red Devils: Brierley, Ryan, Stone, Hankinson, Cross, Atkin, Sneyd, Singleton, Mellor, Lewis, Wright, Watkins, Partington. Subs: Bourouh, Vuniyayawa, Shorrocks, Dudson. 18th Man: Wilson.
Half-Time: 18-0.
Full-Time: 20-0.
Score Progression: 4-0, 6-0, 10-0, 12-0, 16-0, 18-0 : HT: 20-0 :FT.
Lead Exchanges: Catalans.
Referee: Aaron Moore.
