Saints defeat may open door for Mick Potter to enter

Mar 17 2008 by Ian Laybourn, Liverpool Daily Post

MICK POTTER boosted his prospects of becoming the next St Helens coach by plotting Catalans Dragons’ third successive home win over the Grand Final runners-up.

The 44-year-old former St George Illawarra full-back is thought to be on the short-list of candidates to succeed countryman Daniel Anderson at Knowsley Road when he returns to Australia at the end of the season.

Potter, whose contract is up at the Dragons in November, guided the French club to a landmark Challenge Cup final appearance last season and has turned them into a force to be reckoned with in Super League - especially on their home soil.

Potter extended his initial two- year contract 12 months ago, and the Perpignan club’s chairman Bernard Guasch made it clear in preliminary talks yesterday that he is keen to retain his services further.

"He’s asked me to have a think about it," said Potter.

"They want to know what everybody’s doing, and I have told them I will go back to them within a month."

"The club is progressing well, and not just on the football side. Off the field, the club are really starting to develop commercially, said Potter.

"The Challenge Cup final is still paying dividends. Now they’ve got companies knocking on the doors – and we had a crowd of 7,900 last night, which was not far off capacity."

Potter, who quit his job on the backroom staff of St George to succeed Englishman Steve Deakin at the Catalans, played down the link with St Helens.

"I have left everything with my manager," he said.

"At the moment I haven’t heard anything but I think things will happen in the next month.

"My first preference is to go back to Australia. As much as I love living in the south of France, I miss my family and want to spend some time with them.

"I would rather go back sooner than later – but having said that, I need to work."

Potter’s side pulled off their second win of the season, despite losing second rower Cyril Gossard with a recurrence of a back complaint in the warm-up – and he will undergo scans today to get to the bottom of the problem.

Saints - who lost 21-0 at Stade Gilbert Brutus last August - had Chris Flannery, Jon Wilkin and Maurie Fa’asavalu back to ease their early-season injury crisis and they scored the game’s first try through prop James Graham.

But winger Dimitri Pelo scored the first of his two tries six minutes before the break to put the Dragons 8-6 in front, and added a second four minutes into the second half to stretch their lead.

The Catalans had seen victory snatched from their grasp in each of their two previous home games, but front-row forwards Remi Casty and Alex Chan touched down to ensure there would be no defeat.