STEVE MCNAMARA believes some Super League clubs want Catalans Dragons to fail, as the former head coach reveals that the sale of Arthur Mourgue to Hull KR was done out of financial necessity earlier this year.
The timing of that transfer surprised many, and Mourgue went on to play a key role in Rovers’ ascent to the top of the Super League ladder.
The additional travel costs placed upon the Dragons in 2025 – with the French side having to pay for other teams’ travel to Perpignan as well as their own travel to the UK – forced the club’s hand in selling Mourgue.
“Financial reasons. The club needed the money at that stage,” McNamara told the League Express podcast.
“They are getting choked out by other clubs in the competition in terms of the travel costs this year.
“There was already a massive expenditure on the club – additional expenditure – with our travel and then we had to pay for everyone else’s travel.
“It was an opportunity for the club. I didn’t agree with the decision, me and Bernard (Guasch, Catalans’ owner) were on different pages with this but I respected the situation the club was in.
“I tried my hardest for the deal not to go through but ultimately you look at the club haemorrhaging money and then you understand the reasoning for them doing that.”
McNamara believes the best thing for the Dragons would be for the NRL to come in and takeover Super League.
He added: “I found it very hard to comprehend and I do now. I do listen to other clubs and hear their reasons but I don’t agree with their reasons.
“I just don’t get it. It’s so difficult for Catalans. They are trying to choke them out and make them submit.
“Look at other suggestions with away fans that go there with the idea that some money would go back to their own club.
“For a team like Catalans, the best thing would be for the NRL to come in and buy the competition. The NRL would look at it as a different proposition.
“The NRL won’t let Perth fail, they won’t let the PNG team fail. They won’t let expansion teams fail.
“What the NRL does is support those teams whereas it seems the opposite way round with Catalans here.”