Rugby League: Dragons get ready to roar

Aug 11 2007 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

CATALANS DRAGONS hope to lay down a positive marker for the Challenge Cup final as they face St Helens in a Wembley dress rehearsal tonight.

Just a fortnight before taking on the holders for the game’s most famous prize, the French club get a taste of what lies ahead as Saints travel to Perpignan in the engage Super League.

The Dragons have been made rank outsiders for the final as Saints, having swept the board last season, again lead the way on all fronts but the Frenchmen are determined to grab their opportunity.

Mick Potter’s side are trying to sell themselves to a wider French audience and they dare not let themselves down in their last match at the Gilbert Brutus Stadium before Wembley.

Potter said: “Hopefully we will put in a creditable performance for a big crowd and get some exposure.

“If we come up with a decent performance on the field it will help for the final and help the game in France and put another tick in the box for French rugby league.”

Their stunning cup semi-final win over Wigan a fortnight ago aside, however, the Dragons’ form has been poor.

Catalans have slipped from the top six in Super League to 11th heading into this weekend’s games after a run of just one win in their last eight.

“It is a big talking point,” Potter said. “We are disappointed. We have been able to look up for the last couple of Challenge Cup games but we have not been able to produce in Super League.

“The thing is confidence for Wembley but this game is also worth two points. Two points would be fantastic as we don’t want to be bottom.”

Yet when it comes to playing Saints, Potter knows that is easier said than done.

The Dragons also have to make do without stand-off Casey McGuire, whose pectoral injury rules him out of the cup final and possibly for the rest of the season.

With full-back Thomas Bosc, who could have filled in alongside Stacey Jones, also out with a broken arm, the Dragons might have their hands full.

Potter said: “They are the cup winners, the title holders and World Club champions.

“They are certainly the best of recent years as far a complete football team in Super League is concerned.

“They have got something to be proud of and they are building something that will be referred to in the future as a great team. How long it goes on for is anyone’s guess but they are building history.”

Saints will be without the suspended Leon Pryce as well as Lee Gilmour and Nick Fozzard, who are both rested with knocks that should not rule them out for Wembley.

Coach Daniel Anderson hopes his side can now start to build some momentum towards the final after not producing their best against Hull last week in the aftermath of their semi-final win.

“We got two points,” said Anderson, who also hopes to maintain leadership of Super League. “It was not our best but it was not our worst.”