CATALANS DRAGONS will go into Friday’s Super League opener in Perpignan without a string of players who have picked up injuries over the past two weeks.
Sam Tomkins will miss the Round One clash against Hull FC at Stade Gilbert Brutus after pulling a hamstring during Saturday’s hard-fought Challenge Cup 14-0 win at Halifax Panthers, adding to the injuries sustained by centres Reimis Smith (adductor) and Arthur Romano (thigh) during the previous week’s friendly against Toulouse Olympique.
A further painful blow was sustained midweek when scrum-half Théo Fages picked up three broken ribs during a training session and all four backs will miss out on Friday.
But coach Steve McNamara is breathing a sigh of relief after winger Tommy Makinson appeared to suffer an ankle injury at Halifax, although the former St Helens player recovered to complete the game.
McNamara told League Express, “Sam’s got a hamstring strain which will probably rule him out against Hull this week.
“It was a typically competitive cup game and a couple of our players went down at times with bumps and bruises. I’ve had a look around the dressing room and we’ve picked up the usual knocks but we’re fine.
“We’re disappointed with how we played. It’s not how we’ve trained or prepared but we’ll learn from it and move forward.
“We’re into the next stage of the competition, but all our attention focuses on Super League now and a big opening night at Stade Gilbert Brutus against Hull on Friday.”
McNamara was at a loss to explain his side’s inability to dominate the cup game against a dogged and determined home team and the scoreline remained deadlocked at 0-0 until a 55th-minute penalty goal by Arthur Romano, followed by tries for Fouad Yaha and a last-minute strike by César Rougé.
He added, “We were poor and Halifax were great, it’s as simple as that.
“Clearly, we’re disappointed with that and thankfully we got through to the next stage.
“It (the loss of Tomkins in the 38th minute) affected our decision-making. It happened right at the end of the first half and even while Sam was there, some of the individual errors that we served up just gave enough fuel for Halifax to gain some confidence.
“When Sam went off we had to change things around in the second half and some of the decisions we made in our halves reflected our unease at the way the game was going.
“We came up with some really poor decisions and the only other positive from the game is that our defence was tested by a terrific effort from Halifax.
“We were giving them lots of possession, so we spent a lot of time tackling. Our defence was better than our attack, which was obvious to see.
“A huge element of frustration crept into us. Our individual errors in the first half put a stop to any momentum and even though they held us up over the try-line several times, we need to be finishing better.
“I’m just glad that we got that kind of performance out of our system before Super League starts.”
