Tomkins to have delayed debut

Catalans new star signing will have to wait an extra week to make his bow for us having picked up a one game ban for his knee lunge tackle in the Super League Grand Final over the weekend.

In their wisdom the RFL are allowing Sam to serve his ban in a pre season friendly rather than miss a competitive game.. and we say the powers that be in the game are against us eh?

Dragons confirm departures

Catalans official website has revealed the (widely known) list of players who have left the club.

Click here to read the full list.

Batieri signs on for 2 more years

Catalans star Jason Batieri has signed a new 2 year deal with the Perpignan club.

This is a top piece of recruitment and he will be an integral part of the club going forward.

Le Derby is back...

Massive congratulations to London Broncos on getting promoted back into Super League.

Special mention to our old mat Eloi Pellisier on playing his part in the win.

Hall Of Fame: Louis Anderson

By the time Louis Anderson made his Super League bow, he was 23 yet seemed to have been around for a long time already having played three seasons with the NZ Warriors. Perhaps that is down to his brother Vinnie, five years his senior, already having played three years with St Helens by the time Warrington signed him up.

After 104 games for the Wire - and 104 points quite poetically - in four years, he made the switch to Perpignan. It wasn't perhaps the most marquee of signings, with the very greatest of respect, but he quickly settled into the club.

An initial three-year deal turned into a seven-season spell with the club and there never seemed any threat of him leaving the Gilbert Brutus in that time. Bar one season in the number 8 jersey, he quickly became a mainstay in the back row and a unit around which the Dragons pack could be built.

Rarely flashy but always dependable, his win percentage stats are remarkable. Basically, if he played, the more likely were the Dragons to win.

The true test of a player is how they are regarded by their peers. Here, note Alex Chan and Giants prop Suaia Matagi giving Louis the farewell haka after his final Dragons appearance before retirement.

Le haka pour Louis Anderson pic.twitter.com/ytUHSXhlH4

— Dragons Catalans 🏆 (@DragonsOfficiel) September 29, 2018

He'll be tough to replace alright.

Dragons 2018 Show Reel Released

... I would imagine its pretty light until mid April !

Thomas Bosc - Hall of Fame Entry

The word legend gets bandied about way too much in modern life nowadays.

Someone who gets through a reality show and then releases a couple of moderately successful albums can become a “legend” of the music industry, and that’s not right.

In sport you only need to be a handsomely paid footballer and bag a league title amongst a group of world class players to be judged as integral which for me doesn’t sit quite right.

Fortunately we take all of these factors into account before opening the door to the Sang-et-Or hall of Fame and this inductee deserves a statue at the Stade Gilbert Brutus, such has been his impact to this day and hopefully beyond.

Thomas Bosc in stats

Source Wikipedia

Thomas Bosc has been a one club man and was there at the very start of the unified Catalans club.

Bosc has played several positions including the wing, full back and scrum half. His creative play led to an impressive 1 try in every 4 matches across his career and over 1300 points thanks to his kicking.

But Bosc was more than that. He was a player who dug in when the going got tough, and would often be seen playing on covered in bandages and head dressings. He loved playing in our derby with London and scored one of the Dragons greatest ever try’s with a left foot, right foot dink over defenders before gathering to dive under the sticks.

It was an Easter treat that I will never forget.

Inevitably as time caught up with the great man he was preserved and played less frequently, but when his club needed him, he was ready and willing to play.

I remember some wing cameos as the end of his career drew near. These I will cherish as I knew we wouldn’t be seeing him for much longer.

When his retirement came, the Dragons were wise enough to keep him in and around the club. He took on coaching for the domestic league side (U23s) but after a terrible start to 2018 Steve McNamara soon promoted him to join him in the first team dugout.

And that’s the image of Bosc we see most regularly now. Headphones on, prowling the touchline or jogging on to offer some tactical tweak when a stoppage in play allows.

The guy is an absolute legend (a proper one) and epitomises the creative flair and flamboyance that our club is renowned for. I hope he stays with us forever such is the reverence Thomas is held in.

Saints get beaten so we can announce Smith

In the most unsurprising transfer of the winter so far (ahem!), Catalans Dragons have signed Matty Smith from St Helens.

The timing of the announcement came just minutes after St Helens were dumped out of the Super League play offs by Warrington Wolves.

Smith joins on a two year contract.

Let's see if he is more Scott Dureau than Brent Webb eh?

Aside from Smith joining we had the pain of watching Josh Drinkwater clearing his locker on Instagram. Isn't the internet wonderful eh?

Super Remy makes dream team..

Dragons star Remy Casty has been named in this season's Super League Dream Team.

Its thoroughly deserved, especially on his performances in the second half of the season where his leadership and metre making runs were instrumental in getting his team on the front foot.

Four up for Mead as Dracs sign off in style

Forget that for periods of this game there was a level of malaise similar to the opening parts of the season.

Put to one side that we have had relegation form since the Cup Final back in August.

Just revel in the fact that the most successful season in the clubs history has ended in style.

David Mead has played himself into the best form of his opening season at the Dracs over recent weeks and bagged four tries in the sort of comeback we usually have to watch from other teams against us.

To be fair both sides could have been forgiven for being on the beach. Their goals of getting in the top 8 and being exempt from the fear of relegation having been fulfilled. The Dragons and the Giants will be setting themselves loftier targets for next year.

We will break the season down in due course but this one ended with the bizarre sight of Michael McIlorum on the pitch with his pet dogs.

Only in rugby league…