Josh Drinkwater scored a hat-trick of tries as Catalans Dragons thrashed Castleford Tigers 44-16 in Super League on Saturday.
Half-back Drinkwater was outstanding at Stade Gilbert Brutus, amassing 24 points as Catalans moved above Huddersfield Giants and Leeds Rhinos into seventh place in the table.
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The Australian crossed twice in the first half, while Greg Bird, Louis Anderson and Julian Bousquet also dotted down as the Dragons moved into a commanding 30-10 lead at the break.
Paul McShane added to first-half tries from James Clare and Quentin Laulu-Togaga'e for the fourth-placed Tigers, but they were unable to contain the rampant Dragons.
The outstanding Drinkwater laid on a sixth home try with an intelligent kick to enable Kenny Edwards to go over before completing his treble in style by running 70 yards after an interception.
Lewis Tierney grabbed another four-pointer, getting on the end of a kick Samisoni Langi to round out the scoring.
