Click here for statement from official website
Thomas Bosc has left his coaching role at Catalans Dragons for a more holistic position at the club.
He will now look at the recruitment of young players and bringing them through to the senior teams at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.
We wish him well in his new position.
The confirmation that clubs (including our own) had voted in favour of the recommendations of IMG came yesterday.
If there wasn't a feeling that the Superleague is over its French experiment and wants us out before hand, some of the detail certainly makes that clear.
Unless there is something really key I am missing...
Participation of clubs outside of the UK to be capped and with additional standards to support domestic growth
However, the number of clubs outside of the UK would also be capped at two with a minimum number of domestic players in a match-day 17 among the participation criteria.
Those clubs must also subsidise incremental travel costs of UK clubs until a central contribution can otherwise cover them
...These three statements on their own (allowing for the fact we have covered some costs already) make me think that Steve McNamara wasn't being paranoid in this assertation that Ken Davy wanted Dragons out.
If you look at it objectively we have a great stadium, good fan base, positive currency impact, great climate and location to add good players... etc. etc.
Are the clubs in the M62 corridor looking to protect their dominance of a sport shrinking back into itself I wonder?
Of course there will be internet experts who throw back at us the fact we voted for this... so we must support this.
Nonsense.
This was something that the Dragons would have to support, even if it was kneecapping them and their ability to compete.
These restrictions could well be step one in downgrading the club from an A to a B in a few years and chucking us out of the game.
Bernard has already indicated that he is looking for other people to join him at the top table in Perpignan. Based on this I am not so sure I would invest in us.
Unless there is something really key I am missing...
Now would be a good time to let me know !
A busy couple of weeks for the club between the last round of domestic matches and the Superleague fixtures coming out.
Firstly we saw a welcome contract extension for Arthur Morgue. Considering the elusive and evasive running style of the "death man" I am impressed we got him cornered and sat at a desk to sign the thing.
As Samkins starts to see the end of his playing career on the horizon I hope we see even more of this lad in 2022.
I see it as an Obi Wan, Luke sort of relationship developing.
This morning the announcement was made that Mitchell Pearce would be joining us from Newcastle Knights.
He is a big name in the NRL and if he can produce as he did in that competition will be more than adequate a replacement for Jimmy Maloney.
I am sure it a coincidence he joins from the Knights, but in my mind Scott Dureau will have been in his ear for months telling him that Argeles beach will be as good as home.
I hope he goes well.
Dragons Catalans (4) 10
T : Mike McMeeken
G : James Maloney 3
St Helens (6) 12
T : Kevin Naiqama 2
G : Lachlan Coote 2
Dragons : S. Tomkins, Davies, Whare, Landi, Yaha, Maloney, Drinkwater, Dudson, McIlorum, Bousquet, Whitley, McMeeken, Garcia
Subs : Mourgue, Goudemand, J. Tomkins, Kasiano
St Helens : Coote, Makinson, Naiqama, Percival, Grace, Lomax, Dodd, Walmsley, Roby, Lees, Mata’utia, Batchelor, Knowles
Subs : McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Amor, Paasi, Welsby
Stadium : Old Trafford
Referee : Liam Moore
Attendance :45 177
Catalans Dragons came up narrowly short in their quest to win the Superleague Grand Final.
After surviving early pressure from the defending champions, St Helens, the Catalan side struck first through a Jimmy Maloney penalty.
Some juggling in goal from Kevin Naiqama saw us behind at the break before Mike McMeeken gave us a narrow lead which we defending until late on when the Fijian crossed again. He was injured in the act of scoring.
There was a couple of controversial moments. Fouad Yaha looked like scoring before being taken out by Tommy Makinson and in our last attack Sam Tomkins was penalised for an incorrect play the ball. Harsh when you consider he was in a head lock at the time.
It could and maybe should have been a 2 point chance for Maloney and who knows where extra time would have taken us?
When the dust settles we will review the season in detail.
But for now we have the terrible prospect of LMS gloating in his column! You don't like us Louie and we don't like you !
...from the Grand Final is one of pride in my team.
However.
And this is a big rant coming.
The utter nonsense posted on the internet since the game has left me feeling like my love of this game is hanging by a thread, and a thin one at that.
To expect Catalans fans to sell out half of Old Trafford with a weeks notice is ridiculous. Throw in Covid protocols, increased fares due to fuel costs and a whole host of other reasons that would have impacted the crowd from so-called heartlands clubs and you have borderline xenophobia going on here.
I have said it before but it bears repeating.
I am born and raised in the south of England and got into the game through my Father-in-Law owning a home near the Stade Gilbert Brutus. I try and extoll the virtues of the game at every opportunity playing touch in my home area and pushing a Catalans agenda whenever and wherever I can.
Do I feel part of the wider rugby league family?
Sometimes.
But not at the moment. I feel like the likes of me and my club are not welcome in the UK and that the Superleague owners and fans would much prefer both Dracs and Toulouse to do a Toronto and vanish without trace.
The sport is fantastic. Make no mistake about that.
The governance and some of the attitudes around it are not first class, nowhere near.
There are things in the game that were Dragons fault. Signing Israel Folau for example. Bernard throwing his toys out of the pram about officials regularly (including this weekend), and some of the teams poor performances away to the likes of Leeds, Warrington and especially Wigan over the years.
But I found myself typing on Facebook in response to a troll that I was more looking forward to the domestic Elite 1 competition (coming this weekend) more than the Grand Final based on the abuse I knew that was coming our way.
That is a scandalous position to find myself in. This should have been the pinnacle of my Dragons watching career.
Notice I have deliberately not mentioned officials. In the past I subscribed to the theory that we would get reffed out of the big tournament finals but having "let" us get to Old Trafford there was no point in rigging the game then.
The Hull KR match would have been nobbled were that to be the case.
For me the officials have a difficult job and make mistakes from time to time. So do players and so do club officials. So no blame from here there.
So where do I go from here?
I am going to spend the winter following St Esteve and hope that the lack of UK based internet crowd experts offering their stuffy self centred opinions might calm me down and get my love of the game back where it should be.
Catalans Dragons (12) 28
T : Benjamin Garcia, Josh Drinkwater, Arthur Mourgue, Fouad Yaha, Joe Chan
G : James Maloney 4
Hull KR (4) 10
T : Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Ryan Hall
G : Jordan Abdull
Team sheet
Dragons : Mourgue, Davies, Whare, Landi, Yaha, Maloney, Drinkwater, J.Tomkins, McIlorum, Bousquet, Whitley, McMeeken, Garcia
Subs: Dudson, Goudemand, Chan, Kasiano
Hull KR : Dagger, Crooks, Takairangi, Kenny-Dowall, Hall, Lewis, Abdull, King, Litten, Maher, Johnson, Linnett, Storton
Subs: Vete, Mustapha, Tate, Keinhorst
Stadium : Stade Gilbert Brutus
Referee: James Child
Attendance: 11 530
Man of the match : James Maloney
Super League Dream Team: Sam Tomkins (Catalans Dragons), Tom Davies (Catalans Dragons), Jack Welsby (St Helens), Mark Percival (St Helens), Ken Sio (Salford Red Devils), Jonny Lomax (St Helens), James Maloney (Catalans Dragons), Alex Walmsley (St Helens), Kruise Leeming (Leeds Rhinos), Sam Kasiano (Catalans Dragons), Liam Farrell (Wigan Warriors), Kane Linnett (Hull KR), Morgan Knowles (St Helens).
Many congratualtions to our players who made the 2021 Dream Team.
With the Oneills kit and leisurewear having been on sale on both sides of Le Manche for months now, its become apparent that the Dragons are changing supplier.
We had been given some insight that Oxen sports would take over for the 2022 season but it appears that its not as cut and dried as we throught.
This image from the xii Catalans page doesn't really give us too much of a clue with both Errea and Macron teamwear shown here and with the crest.
To add to the intrigue the team are shown wearing the kit of Neo Logik, a company we seem to remember having connections to "Super" Jason Baitieri.
The St Esteve Elite 1 team still have a full range in their Oneills store so it looks like whatever deal is being done its for the 2022 Superleague season as the start.
We will keep you posted on what we see or hear.
A second defeat on the bounce for the League Leaders Shield winners who lost this tight encounter with Wigan at the DW Stadium.
The truth is that this was a decent result in a close match and at a ground where we are usually battling to keep the score under 50.
Wigan Warriors (6) 12
T : Willie Isa, James McDonnell
G : Zak Hardaker (2)
Dragons Catalans (0) 8
T : Tom Davies, Matthieu Laguerre
G :
Wigan : Hardaker, Bibby, Isa, Gildart, Halsall, Smith, Hastings, Bullock, Shorrocks, Clubb, Pearce-Paul, McDonnell, Partington
Subs : Byrne, Clark, Havard, O'Neill
Dragons : S.Tomkins, Davies, Langi, Whare, Maloney, Drinkwater, Dudson, McIlorum, Bousquet, Whitley, McMeeken, J. Tomkins
Subs : Mourgue, Goudemand, Garcia, Kasiano
Stadium : DW Stadium
Referee : James Child
Yellow card : Sam Kasiano
As delighted as I am that Catalans won the hub cap, the comedown has centered on whether its actually good for the game or not.
On the night we were given the shield social media was lit with people wondering why the games UK based administrators weren't engaging in the level of Tweets and Instagram posts that they would have if Leeds, Wigan or St Helens had won the division.
Whether it was a trick of the camera or not, Ken Davy's face has become the iconic image of the Dragons Magic Weekend comeback and securing of league leadership.
The latest proposals from former Northampton RLFC supremo Ralph Rimmer has focused on the UK and its M62 based clubs with Catalan Media reporting that no French based journalists were briefed or invited to this presentation of the games future.
The Leigh owner Derek Beaumont is desperately trying to save his club with a bid to prevent Toulouse getting promoted to add more colour and a credible derby for Catalans (sorry London!) in the top division.
The world feels like its against us at the moment and with murmurings already about the likely loss of revenue from an Old Trafford Grand Final featuring our club, cynical James is expecting us to get refereed out of the play offs.
We have won the league leaders shield along with the Challenge Cup but that's enough now and boardrooms across the North of England will be holding meetings to ensure that we go no further with our inroads in the Super League. It sounds fanciful but this is rugby league.
So as much as I am loving life as a Catalans fan at the moment, I have genuine and grave fears for the future of the game and its current set up.
In fact this season I have watched way more NRL than Superleague along with the ERDS touch rugby series that a number of people I train and play with have been involved in.
It was a case of after the Lord Mayors show as Catalans were beaten at home on the night the League Leaders Shield was presented.
With a few rotations to the team there was still a great start for the home club who roared into a two score lead backed by jubilant fans.
But the visitors wouldn't go away and were only 18-12 adrift at the interval.
The Catalans did not score in the second half whilst the visitors went over three more times to get a 30-18 win.
Well done to them.
The evening was dampened but not destroyed as the club presented former players like Remi Casty and Greg Bird who had left the club during lockdown before getting their hands on the silverware.
Naturally there will be fans of other clubs in the Superleague who find great amusement in the fact we are celebrating this as an achievement, but with last rites being read to a game on its arse by some, we can be part of the solution for rugby league and not the problem.
Dragons Catalans (18) 0
T : Matt Whitley 2, Matthieu Laguerre
G : James Maloney 3
Huddersfield Giants (12) 0
T : Josh Jones, Louis Senior, Jack Cogger, Olly Ashall-Bott, Matthew English
G : Oliver Russell 5
Dragons : Mourgue, Davies, Laguerre, Whitley, Franco, Maloney, Drinkwater, Dudson, Rougé, Goudemand, Jullien, Le Cam, Baitieri
Subs : Séguier, Cozza, Dezaria, Brochon
Huddersfield : Ashall-Bott, Cudjoe, Wardle, Leutele, Senior, Russell, Cogger, Wilson, Peats, English, Jones, McQueen, Lawrence
Subs : Greenwood, Trout, Pryce, Peteru
Stadium : Stade Gilbert Brutus
Referee : Tom Grant
Yellow Card : Chris McQueen
St Helens (18) 30
T : Tommy Makinson, Lachlan Coote, Sione Mata’utia 2, Morgan Knowles
G : Lachlan Coote 5
DG :
Catalans Dragons (6) 31
T : Sam Tomkins, Julian Bousquet, Dean Whare, Gil Dudson, Sam Kasiano
G : James Maloney 5
DG : James Maloney
Team sheet
Dragons : S.Tomkins, Davies, Whare, Langi, Yaha, Maloney, Drinkwater, Dezaria, McIlorum, Bousquet, Whitley, McMeeken, Goudemand
Subs : Mourgue, Dudson, J.Tomkins, Kasiano
St Helens : Coote, Makinson, Naiqama, Percival, Grace, Welsby, Dodd, Walmsley, Roby, Lees, Mata’utia, Bentley, Knowles
Subs : Amor, Paasi, Batchelor, Wingfield
Stadium: St James’ Park
Referee: Liam Moore
Sin bin : Mark Percival, Sam Kasiano, Agnatius Paasi
It might not mean much to some people, but the Catalans Dragons have secured the Superleague League Leaders shield with a stunning comeback against St Helens at the Magic Weekend in Newcastle.
St James' Park had not been the happiest of hunting grounds for the Dracs over the years and at 30-18 down inside the last 10 minutes all looked lost here.
But we do have previous against Saints. Ask Daryl Millard and Scott Dureau.
One try back was seen as consolation, two as putting up a good fist of it. Then Super Sam Kasiano lept like Niall Quinn in his pomp (wrong sport and he was Sunderland not Newcastle, granted) to get us back to within 2 points.
Jimmy Maloney then slotted over the conversion and we were off to next point wins.
After a couple of attempts that glorious moment came when Maloney slotted it over and the boys in grey were victorious.
After taking the Challenge Cup out of the UK a couple of years ago, we now hope that we've got started on SLexit.
(That excellent pun is copywrite, don't nick it)
The play offs are a different matter and the cynics already seem to think we will get Thalered out of a grand final as the one thing the competition needs to save it is bums on seats.
That's for another day, let's enjoy the hubcap for what it is, but also as a pretty decent achievement all things considered.
In previous years, the writers and editors of this website may have given the impression that they thought the League Leaders Shield was a relatively worthless piece of silverware.
Comments such as "the hubcap", "the salad dish", "tin plate" and "won nowt yet" may have lead readers to believe that we were of the opinion that this achievement meant little in the grander scheme of things.
In light of Saturday's remarkable events as the Dragons came from 30-12 down against nearest rivals St Helens to level matters and then go on to win with a dramatic 40-metre drop-goal from the boot of Jimmy Maloney, we now realise this was misguided and the Shield is extremely valuable and an important part of any club's palmarès.
We apologise for any confusion and are happy to clear this matter up.
Dragons Catalans (40) 64
T : Mike McMeeken 3, Fouad Yaha 3, James Maloney, Joel Tomkins, Sam Tomkins 2, Tom Davies
G : James Maloney 10
Leigh Centurions (0) 0
T :
G :
Official match report - Catalans Dragons offered produced a magnificient performance to beat Leigh 64-0 at the Gilbert Brutus Stadium.
Thanks to 11 tries without conceding a single point, Steve McNmara's men never gave a chance to their opponent.
With this new victory, the Dragons remain top of the Super League ahead of the big clash over St Helens in the Magic Weekend next Saturday at Newcastle.
Dragons : S.Tomkins, Davies, Laguerre, Langi, Yaha, Maloney, Drinkwater, Dezaria, McIlorum, Bousquet, Le Cam, McMeeken, Goudemand
Subs : Mourgue, J.Tomkins, Cozza, Chan
Leigh : Brand, Elliot, Sa’u, Logan, Nisbet, Mellor, Brierley, Mason, Eaves, Butler, Hellewell, Foster, Thompson
Subs : Gerrard, Mullen, Spencer, Whitbread
Stadium : Gilbert Brutus
Referee : A. Moore
Attendance : 6512
Man of the Match : Mike McMeeken
A bank holiday Monday from hell for Leigh with Dragons warming up for their Magic Weekend date with destiny by putting 60 points on their relegation favourite visitors.
We can talk about the inequality of the competition for as long as we like but this is a case of the teams putting all that aside and playing the best they could in the circumstances.
With short turnarounds and injury this might, in all honesty, have been one that Leigh hadn't highlighted as getting too much from and so it proved with the home side well on the way to the half century before the break.
The Dragons have won the McNamara derby with a nervy win over plucky Hull FC over the weekend.
After defeat at St Helens, this one was important to win ahead of a trip to bogey side Warrington.
Despite throwing an interception, Sam Tomkins was instrumental in our finishing the game strongly.
With a reduced pre-season involving less contact being highlighted as a possible cause of fitness dropping off during the season, its so far so good for the conditioners and coaching team.
The over-riding image of the match will be of Dad Steve consoling son Ben after the final hooter.
Dragons Catalans (10) 31
T : Tom Davies 2, Fouad Yaha, Sam Tomkins, Julian Bousquet
G : James Maloney 5
DG : James Maloney
Hull FC (14) 16
T : Carlos Tuimavave, Bureta Faraimo
G : Ben McNamara 4
Dragons : S.Tomkins, Davies, Whare, Langi, Yaha, Maloney, Drinkwater, Dudson, McIlorum, Bousquet, Le Cam, McMeeken, Goudemand
Subs : Mourgue, Chan, Kasiano, Dezaria
Hull FC : Swift, Faraimo, Walker, Tuimavave, Scott, Reynolds, McNamara, Fash, Houghton, Sao, Ma’u, Lane, Cator
Subs : Taylor, Brown, Bowden, Hookem
Stadium : Gilbert Brutus
Referee : James Child
Intendance : 7122
Man of the Match : Mickael Goudemand
We were all looking forward to the World Cup. Particularly, the Greece v France game - The Forbidden Derby - in the group stages and what promised to be a great fun event at Leeds when Ireland faced Jamaica.
But as we know now, it ain't happening. Well, not any time soon, and if things haven't changed much in twelve months we'll be back in the same position again. Given how little has changed in the last 18 months, we're not holding out huge confidence in the same issues rearing their heads again.
The big problem was of course the NRL. With Australian quarantine rules, any player coming over would end up missing a chunk of their pre-season, a situation that simply cannot be abided despite the obvious benefits to the global game. If it's not NRL, it's not their problem, and therefore can be treated with contempt, even if the players were up for it.
It's clear that the Australian game doesn't have the best interests of the international game at heart. How many times have the Kangaroos even played since the last World Cup? It's not very many. And indeed, they trampled on a mid-season international break some years ago so even sides willing to play one another would struggle to raise competitive sides.
There's only one solution to the impasse.
Disband the Kangaroos.
Seems a bit extreme, obviously, but if they're not even going to play games, would they even be missed? Let them have their Origin and let the rest of us get on with it. Let James Tedesco play for Italy, Tom Trbojevic for Serbia, Ryan Papenhuyzen for the Netherlands. Let's see teams who want to get it on do so, without that permanent feeling that any second-generation player for an emerging nation will soon be in green and gold. Let's have fun, fun that the presence of the Kangaroos invariably destroys, or at least disrupts.
Bin 'em off, the rest of us get on with it and maybe, just maybe, when they see we're having fun and progressing without them, they might actually get it.
The run is over, but what a time it has been to follow this club and its fortunes.
My hope is that we don't look back on this mid part of 2021 and identify it as the highlight. There is still much to play for and we have to continue to go for it.
Don't leave it in the stands and on the touchline, leave it all on the park.
Of course injuries are starting to bite, but its the same for all so we still have a chance.
St Helens (20) 34
T : Tommy Makinson, Lewis Dodd, Regan Grace, Joe Batchelor, Lachlan Coote
G : Lachlan Coote 7
Dragons Catalans (6) 12
T : Matthieu Laguerre, Mickael Goudemand
G : James Maloney 2
Dragons : Mourgue, Franco, Whare, Laguerre, Yaha, Maloney, Rougé, Dudson, Da Costa, Goudemand, Jullien, McMeeken, J.Tomkins
Subs : Séguier, Le Cam, Chan, Dezaria
Saints : Coote, Makinson, Naiqama, Percival, Grace, Lomax, Dodd, Walmsley, Roby, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Thompson, Batchelor, Knowles
Subs : Mata’utia, Amor, Paasi, Welsby
Stadium : Totally Wicked Stadium
Referee : Liam Moore
Yellow card : Joe Chan, Sione Mata’utia
Love Rugby League has a couple of articles talking about Sam Tomkins at the moment.
One includes a podcast link with George Riley and is well worth a listen.
So here are the links in case you missed them.
McNamara says Sam is natural leader > Click here
Tomkins to settle in France post retirement > Click here
We love Samkins and are really enjoying his contribution to the team at the moment.
There have been new contracts agreed with a number of key Dragons players in recent weeks.
This is brilliant news and highlights the need to keep this squad together over the coming years.
Skipper Ben Garcia was the first to sign, with a long term deal that effectively sees the best years of his career being at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.
Hot property and England international Tom Davies has a similar extension to hopefully ward off suitors of his from the NRL.
He is in brilliant form and getting the best run of try scoring of his career.
Sam Tomkins just gets one more year and we hope he will keep up his current level of performance for 2021 and 2022.
Finally Josh Drinkwater adds 2 years to his contract in a real comeback after a tough stint at Hull KR.
JD famously came from building site to Perpignan before starring in our 2018 cup win. However future terms couldn't be agreed and he went to Hull KR before returning in 2020.
He has been exceptional all season.
This hasn't yet been reflected in O'Neills store over here in the UK.
My feeling is that this could be the end of the current relationship which will have been in place for 3 years since ISC packed up and went home to Australia.
I have been happy with the designs in the main, only pausing my purchasing in 2020 for other reasons that have been discussed at length.
However, people I play rugby with who have used O'neills kit have cited recent issues with supply and sizing. That is anecdotal and not my personal experience, but it might be that they are looking to scale back to focus on delivery and not breadth of clubs supplied.
If the Dragons kit deal is up for renewal, the current high profile of the club at the top of Super League should make them an attractive target for a brand looking to get a foothold in the game or cement its position.
I see two names in the frame at the moment.
Oxen have taken over where ISC left off in terms of depth of clubs supplied and I could easily see Catalans fit in with this brand.
Despite a fair bit of stick over the England world cup kit, I think both that and the training gear looks really nice. I spent my birthday money on an England hoodie and am really happy with it.
My other tip is Macron. Best known for football and recently 6 nations rugby union, the Italian manufacturer are reputedly looking to pitch for contracts to supply clubs and have a shop right outside Stade Gilbert Brutus.
It will be interesting to see what happens with regards to announcements and decisions with all clubs, not just Catalans Dragons looking to get the best deals possible as they start looking to recoup recent losses.
Maybe Nike are coming back ?
