CATALANS DRAGONS will be wrapping their scrum-half Mitchell Pearce in cotton wool this week as they prepare for Saturday’s Grand Final against Wigan Warriors.
The 34-year-old former NRL star is hoping to hang his boots up at Old Trafford but there are concerns over a hamstring injury, which might cut short a dream ending to his glittering career at the Theatre of Dreams.
Pearce played for a full 80 minutes of Friday’s semi-final victory over St Helens in Perpignan, despite limping from the field the previous week at Salford.
Coach Steve McNamara is anxious to see the effect Friday’s game has had on the Aussie veteran before he makes his “difficult decisions” on team selection for the final.
McNamara told League Express, “Mitchell did well to get through the game after his recent hamstring problem but we’ll see how he pulls up as we plan for the final.
“It’s too early to tell yet; that was a hard match and there is a lot of fatigue among the players and a lot of tired bodies.”
The Dragons’ coach had French international Arthur Mourgue on the bench on Friday night but refused to use the substitution, despite the physical demands of an attritional game against the champions.
He added, “It was a very difficult decision (not to use Mourgue) but the game was right in the balance, He was there ready to go if Mitchell or Michael McIlorum needed a rest, but the game was so finely balanced it was very difficult to get him on.
“Sometimes they turn out to be the right decisions and for us it worked. He understands it and he will play a big part in the future of this club.”
McNamara was impressed with a rare appearance for prop-forward Siua Taukeiaho, who has missed most of the season with niggling injuries. The former Sydney Roosters star could have played himself into the final before he returns to Australia after cutting in half an initial two-year contract with Catalans.
One selection decision McNamara won’t need to fret over is whether or not to play Sam Tomkins, who was man of the match against St Helens with a crucial last-minute try.
When asked by League Express after Friday’s game how his knee injury (which has forced his retirement following Saturday’s game) was feeling, Tomkins smiled: “It feels great, never felt better!”
If Pearce’s hamstring is fine, McNamara is likely to field the same lineup in the final as he did against St Helens and the Dragons’ chief is looking for a “perfect” performance.
He said, “To take that one step forward and win a Grand Final you need all of the effort we showed against St Helens but you also need to play a pretty perfect game.
“We saw in the Australian Grand Final that Penrith made one error in the whole game and then had to wait until right to the end to win it.
“When we went to the final in 2021, although we played well and were very competitive, we just missed the mark in a couple of areas. We needed to learn the lessons from that, and we have done.
“When we came here, we had to address the lack of consistency at the club. It was a lack of consistency in how we lived our lives and how we trained and that was reflected in what was happening on the field.
“These players are so committed and they have sacrificed a lot to give themselves the best opportunity. If you live your life consistently well and you train well, then you become consistent in your performances.
“We’ve managed to finish in the top four for the last four years now. We’re not as established as the other clubs, so we have to keep working hard as an organisation just to stay there.
“We’re happy to be top-four regulars but we’ll be even happier if we win it.”
