Catalan winger Michael Oldfield has revealed his disappointment at the Dragons being knocked out by St Helens last Thursday night, but he believes the club will be stronger next season.
Saints prevailed 30-12 at Langtree Park to end the French side’s season, after they had beaten both Leeds and Huddersfield away from home.
“I’m very disappointed with the game and I didn’t want the fairytale to end,” Oldfield said.
“We knew that if we could nullify their rolling rucks, we could limit Roby’s game. But we just got too dominated at the ruck. We always thought we were in it, but once they got a few tries ahead the clock was ticking and we never regained our momentum.”
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The Australian winger scored a try in the 18-point defeat, his 20th of the season, but it wasn’t enough for the Catalans to prevail. Oldfield said the loss of fullback Morgan Escaré early in the second half with a hip injury was a big blow.
“Losing Morgan was massive,” he said.
“He brings a lot of spark to our attack and with tough games sometimes you need someone to pull something out of the hat. And that’s what Morgan has a great ability to do.”
There were several dubious decisions during the match, but Oldfield said that wasn’t why the Dragons lost.
“It just wasn’t our day,” he said.
“We can’t be blaming the refs.”
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The Catalans will add Todd Carney and Willie Tonga to their ranks next season, as well as seeing the return of Rémi Casty and Scott Dureau to Perpignan.
The 23-year old believes the quartet will be a big asset for the Catalans.
“They’re awesome additions to our club,” Oldfield said.
“Hopefully we’ve set a precedent for years to come at the Dragons.”
