Hooray ! we win again as Justin Murphy and the team continues their epic 2024/2025 season
Pia (6) 22
T : Bergal, Thérésin 2, Huescar
G : Baby 3
Saint-Estève XIII Catalan (14) 24
T : Darrelatour 3, Zenon
G : Aispuro-Bichet 4
St Estève XIII Catalan : Zenon, Darrelatour, Aispuro-Bichet, Marc, Rey, Castany, Lapierre, Vailhen, Ben Abdeslem, Giov. Descalzi, Humbert, Castano, Tadjeur
Subs : Hughes, Llong, Masuaute, Nahal.
Another win for the reserves in the Super 13.
T : Lam, Darrelatour 2, Humbert, M. Masuaute, Castano, Devoyon
G : Devoyon 5
St Gaudens (6) 24
T : Pons, Hellec 2, Multignier
G : Hellec 4
Arghhhh
A golden point loss to Limoux was the outcome of this weekends match.
1 win and 1 loss from the two matches to date.
Match report from Treize Mondial
Well, who saw this coming ?
Not me, that is for sure.
We left this website out to dry back at the start of last year after time pressure meant that I could no longer update it.
There was a period where the offer for someone to take over the site was place, but the option was never taken up.
So the website was mothballed and that appeared to be that.
But there was always a nagging itch to scratch that I wasn't done telling the story of Catalans Dragons and their fans in the UK.
So let's give it another go, this feels like the right time with interaction and engagement high on social media platforms.
So what did we miss in the fallow year and a bit?
Well, there was a second grand final but that was even more of a non-event than the first one we made and that 2018 Challenge Cup Final win remains the only silverwear we have won (discounting the old seperate clubs that made up the Catalans back in the day).
Despite some close shaves with Bernard and his meat cleaver, Steve McNamara remains in post and despite my public reservations about the coaching set up over the years, he has done a good job with three finals since 2018.
The challenge remains winning SuperLeague and we seen intent on trying players out for just a year before binning them off (sometimes for watching Burna Boy) and starting all over again.
It looks clear enough to me.... give some French players some time and let them develop alongside some etrangers.
But we don't seem to learn.
And we are now playing a super defensive, non-expansive game as the 8 players off contract look to get to the end of their time with the club with enough in the tank to hit the ground running next year.
Challenging times.
T : César Rougé, Tom Johnstone 2, Romain Navarrete, Manu Ma’u, Tanguy Zenon
G : Arthur Mourgue 4
Sélection Elite 1 (4) 4
T : Louis Carré
G :
Catalans Dragons have beaten the Elite 1 Selection 32-4 at the Gilbert Brutus Stadium for their first game of the 2023 season.
After a balanced first-half, the Dragons produced a serious performance and scored 6 tries thanks a brace scored by Tom Johnstone and tries from César Rougé, Romain Navarrete, Manu Ma'u and Tanguy Zenon.
Next game will be at Wakefield for the start of the 2023 Super League on Friday, February 17.
So where will this unfinished looking Dracs side finish in 2023?
There are a couple of polls we have running so please vote using one of the choices below...
Twitter poll - Click here
RLFans survey - Click here
Albi
Damel DIAKATÉ
Maxime PUECH
Avignon
Louis CARRÉ
Mouadh BIDA
Rémi ANDREU
Mendy SALOTY
Carcassonne
Vincent ALBERT
Clément BOYER
Clément HERRERO
Saint-Estève XIII Catalan
Romain FRANCO
Paul MARTY
Léo LAURENT
Léo LLONG
Bastien SCIMONE
Corentin REY
Lézignan
Franck MARIA
Evan ALBERT
Limoux
Justin BOUSCAYROL
Lucas VERGNIOL
Pia
Florian VAILHEN
Mathias MARTY
Benjamin JULLIEN
Alan BABY
Toulouse
Robin BROCHON
Pierre-Jean LIMA
Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Enzo DELTHEIL
Thomas LASVENES
The Dragons will be kicking off against a domestic league select side on 4th Feb.
Catalans Dragons (10) 26
T : Fouad Yaha,Tom Davies 2, Gil Dudson, Joe Chan
G : Sam Tomkins 3
Toulouse Olympique (6) 10
T : Lloyd White, Chris Hankinson
G : Chris Hankinson
Dragons : S.Tomkins, Davies, Langi, Whare, Yaha, Pearce, Drinkwater, Napa, McIlorum, Bousquet, Whitley, McMeeken, Goudemand
Subs : Jullien, Séguier, M. Laguerre, Romano, May, Dezaria, Rougé, J. Chan, Kasiano
Toulouse : Gigot, Russell, Hankinson, Jussaume, Armitage, Paulo, Albert, Sangaré, White, Bretherton, Peyroux, Dixon, Navarrete
Subs : Pelissier, Garbutt, Puech, Marion, Hansen, Bergal , Stefani, Ross, B. Laguerre, Garcia, Depeyre
Stadium : Gilbert Brutus
Referee : Aaron Moore
It was derby day delight for the Dragons as they took a well earned win over their fellow French Superleaguers TOxii.
The right edge work between Dean Whare and Tom Davies was delicious and saw us get through the visiting defence more than once.
There were only small pieces for returning heroes Tony Gigot, Lucas Albert and Eloi Pelissier to work with and despite people questioning the depth of TOxii this was still a relevant and worthwhile work out for Steve McNamara and the team.
A tough 2021/2022 season continues for St Esteve after this heavy defeat to title chasing Carcassonne.
Carcassonne (12) 41
T : Gambaro 2, Alberola, Francis, Bouregba, Dauliac, Bitigri
G : Herrero 6
DG : Herrero
St Estève XIII Catalan (0) 6
T :Parenti
G : Brochon
St Estève XIII Catalan (20) 32
T : Parenti, Carré, Franck 2, Scimone, Khedimi
G : Marty 4
Toulouse Olympique (0) 4
T : Stefani
G :
A win and potentially the Dracs back on track after beating their soon to be Superleague rivals TO13.
Lézignan (12) 24
T : Lacans, Bonneriez, Ferret, Inu, J. Flovie
G : Marginet 2
St Estève XIII Catalan (12) 22
T : Jobe, Vailhen, Khedimi, Parenti
G : Marty 3
The champions were run close by an improving Catalans side over the weekend.
Level at the interval this would have been a really impressive scalp to claim but we move on to Toulouse this weekend and hopefully a win.
St Estève XIII Catalan (12) 32
T : Zénon, Tison, Parenti, Marty, Jobe, Laurent
G : Marty 4
DG :
Albi (13) 19
T : Chanet, Cancé, Bernard
G : Fabre 3
DG : Fabre
Its taken a while but we are off the mark in the domestic league for 2021/2022.
After what I think is a record number of straight defeats to start an Elite 1 season this performance and win was much needed.
The baby Dracs are zero and two from the start of the season with a heavy defeat on their travels in Avignon over the weekend
Avignon (24) 42
T : Ghanem, Arnaud, Meyziani, Payne, Jullien, Andreu, Salphati
G : Arnaud 5
St Estève XIII Catalan (0) 6
T : T. Chan
G : Marty
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
