Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 28 Catalans Dragons 42: Trinity's defensive errors prove costly again as Dragons triumph

For the first half an hour and a 15-minute spell in the second half Wakefield looked like a team who think defence is something to sit on.

In that period they conceded eight tries, initially going 26-0 down after only 27 minutes and then having their line breached three times in quick succession after they had threatened to stage one of Super League’s great fightbacks.

That rally featured four unanswered tries and when the deficit was down to four points Wildcats had Catalans wobbling, but a controversial scrum feed to the visitors, from which they scored, broke the home team’s momentum.

It was Wakefield’s highest score of the season so far, but that was little comfort to coach Brian Smith. He said: “I was very disappointed with our defensive performance in the first half. Then when we got ourselves back in the game we let ourselves down again with defensive problems.

“If you give up 42 (points) you are not going to win, I don’t think. That part has been very disappointing, because we are generally better than that.”

Catalans are a huge side, packed with skilful players who can be devastating when they decide to put the effort in.

For the first half an hour they were far too good, with Todd Carney calling the shots and their pack – led by the giant Dave Taylor – forcing Wildcats back.

Wakefield only managed to get into the game once Taylor had gone off and their fightback ended when the Australian front-rower returned, though Carney was anonymous after half-time.

Jodie Broughton, the former Huddersfield winger, began the scoring with his first Catalans try after six minutes, crossing from Krisnan Inu’s pass after the centre had been teed up by Carney.

Taylor is all about brute force, but he displayed a surprisingly delicate touch when he grubbered over the Wakefield line for Vincent Duport to touch down and then Pat Richards – who kicked three first half goals – out-jumped Reece Lyne to collect Carney’s kick.

Jasoin Baitieri crashed over from Carney’s pass close to the line and Stewart completed the French side’s first-half haul by easing through a huge gap from a defence-splitting pass by the Australian stand-off.

At that stage Wakefield were being booed by their own fans, but the home team reacted well to fight their way back into the game by the interval.

Anthony Tupou showed determination to force his way over from Liam Finn’s pass on 32 minutes, before Tupou and Ben Jones-Bishop shifted the ball wide for Joe Arundel to cross.

Finn converted both to make it 26-12 at the break and just four minutes into the second half Tupou and Jacob Miller combined to put Lyne in.

Finn added another conversion from wide out to cut the gap to eight points and it was down to four when Tom Johnstone scored an unconverted try at the corner from the No 7’s kick.

Wildcats had their tails up, but a controversial moment turned the game, Catalans being awarded the feed at a scrum deep in home territory after it initially appeared Wakefield would have the ball. From that Richie Myler jinked through the defence for a well-taken try and Pat Richards’s conversion made it 32-22.

That ended Wildcats’ fightback. Tony Gigot forced his way over and added a second, again goaled by Richards, though the home side scored a late consolation through Mickael Simon, converted by Finn. The rally either side of the interval showed what Wakefield can do when they build a head of steam.

“We scored the final try of the game and the boys are still putting in,” Smith said.

“But there’s an old adage, you get no medals for trying. In professional sport you have got to be better than that. We weren’t at times and it cost us.”

It was the second successive game in which Wakefield only got into gear after the opposition had built a big lead.

“We have got to learn how to go with the opposition early doors in games,” Smith admitted.

“The opening part of the game is vital.”

Smith praised Catalans’ skilful, powerful, athletic attacking performance, but reckoned Wakefield had their own star player in young winger Tom Johnstone.

He scored one try and went close to grabbing another when he collected Arundel’s short kick-off and forced his way almost to the line.

“He was absolutely outstanding,” Smith said.

“We all love to see those breaks and tries and attacking things he did (yesterday), but in the early part of the game he kept us in it with some tremendous defence as well.”

Wakefield Wildcats: Jones-Bishop, Lyne, Arundel, Hall, Johnstone, Miller, Finn, Scruton, Sio, England, Molloy, Ashurst., Simon. Substitutes: A Tupou, Arona, Howarth, Anderson.

Catalans Dragons: Gigot, Broughton, Inu, Duport, Richards, Carney, Myler, L Anderson, Pelissier, Taylor, Stewart, Horo, Baitieri. Substitutes: Casty, Bousquet, Bosc, Mason.

Referee: P Bentham (Warrington).