CATALANS DRAGONS have got the scent of Super League after a “pretty perfect” pre-season trial victory over a French Elite One Select side.
Coach Steve McNamara was pleased that his players emerged unscathed from a testing 32-4 win over a team containing many of the club’s fringe first-teamers and reserves.
He said: “It’s good to get out there on the field and we’ve now got the scent of Super League, the smell of Round One, which is just around the corner.”
Catalans fielded four of their new signings, although Australian centre Adam Keighran had to pull out of the game with a calf injury.
The Dragons are expected to make two further signings before the season starts and have been linked to Cook Islands’ international centre Steven Marsters.
The 23-year-old centre is a free agent after being released by South Sydney Rabbitohs last season and he is rumoured to be Catalans’ next recruit.
Coach McNamara wouldn’t be drawn on potential new signings but he was content with the four debutants who played on Saturday.
He told League Express: “We’re all happy with parts of the game but Siua (Taukeiaho) was disappointed with a couple of off-loads which led to errors and Tom Johnstone felt he could have got a couple more tries and we conceded a try from a kick which he thought he could have defended better, but that’s the nature of these games.
“It was pretty much a perfect preparation for us; it was a hard game and the conditions (extreme wind) were really tough.
“The opposition rotated everyone around every ten minutes which kept them fresh and made it a tough contest.
“It was important for us to play, and full credit to the French team they gave us the type of game and opposition that we needed.
“You do all the repetition in training, tackling the same bodies, but you need something different and we got it today.”
The Dragons will have no further pre-season matches before round one of Super League at Wakefield Trinity.
The coach reported no serious injury concerns from the trial game, adding: “Jules Bousquet got a little bump on his calf in the first half so we took him off and it was the same with Adam Keighran, he got a hit on his calf at training last week so we decided not to play him.
“We had a couple of our full-time squad members in the opposition and four more from our reserves and they were great today.
“It’s been a good day for the club as a whole and also for French Rugby League.”
Meanwhile Fouad Yaha has had successful surgery after dislocating his right shoulder during training.
The France international winger, who became the club’s all-time leading try scorer last season, is expected to be sidelined for approximately five months.