LEAGUE EXPRESS previews a season in which Catalans Dragons will aim to improve further on their best-ever campaign.
THE DEPARTURES
Changes have been minimal in the off-season at Catalans but the departure of James Maloney threatens to have a significant impact.
The halfback played a phenomenal role in his two seasons at the Perpignan club and was pivotal in helping them to the League Leaders’ Shield and a first Grand Final appearance last year.
Maloney was clearly still on top form but, at 35, he opted to call it a day in terms of professional rugby and now plays for Lézignan.
Also leaving for Lézignan were Jason Baitieri, a veteran of over 200 Super League appearances across more than a decade, and Lambert Belmas, for whom a move to Toulouse fell through due to injury.
The other departure from the squad is Joel Tomkins, with the cross-code England international signing a deal with Leigh for this season, only to then decide to hang up the boots and end an eventful and successful career.
THE ARRIVALS
Maloney has been replaced by a player he knows all too well, having played alongside Mitchell Pearce in an NRL-winning Sydney team and State Of Origin-winning New South Wales side.
The 32-year-old Pearce has more than 300 NRL games under his belt and joins Catalans from Newcastle Knights aiming to fill the boots of his former halfback partner, take control of the Dragons and push them to even greater heights.
He is one of three arrivals from Australia, with Dylan Napa and Tyrone May also jetting in to make up the full contingent of Catalans recruits.
Pearce played alongside Napa at the Roosters and the prop forward joins from Canterbury to further bolster Steve McNamara’s pack.
May joins the club after being sacked by Penrith, following a social media post relating to his previous convictions for recording intimate images without consent.
His last appearance was in the Panthers’ triumphant Grand Final win in October and the centre or halfback will now hope to reach some showpiece matches with his new club.
THE SPINE
Pearce will look to build as strong a partnership with Josh Drinkwater to link effectively with another Sydney-born player who seems to find a new level when wearing a Catalans shirt, having excelled across two spells in the south of France.
Behind them, the Dragons have the luxury of the Man of Steel at fullback. Sam Tomkins will be looking to replicate the spectacular form he reached in 2021 and he will continue to be a vital presence on both their defence and attack.
Arthur Mourgue is one of the top young talents in Super League, but with that spine to compete with he might have to settle for another season being used mostly as an interchange option.
Then there is young halfback Cesar Rougé, who made his debut while still aged only 18 against St Helens in August. It was one of two appearances he made in 2021 and big things are expected of him in Perpignan.
The spine is completed by highly experienced hooker Michael McIlorum, who remains first choice ahead of Alrix Da Costa.
THE PACK
Catalans have built an imposing pack, with Sam Kasiano quite literally standing head and shoulders above the rest.
The New Zealander is an almighty unit but knows how to use it to get himself and his team forward, hence earning a spot in the Super League Dream Team last season.
Gil Dudson and Julian Bousquet have the starting prop squad numbers, with the latter entering his eleventh season at the club and still producing excellent displays.
Napa will only add in further competition for front-row spots, while not forgetting Paul Séguier too.
As for the rest of the forward ranks, Ben Garcia proved himself a great captain in his first season in the role last year and remains a hugely influential loose forward as well.
Mike McMeeken continues the firepower into the second row after a great first season at the club, alongside the likes of Matt Whitley, Benjamin Jullien, Mickael Goudemand, Jordan Dezaria and Joe Chan.
THE THREEQUARTERS
After Tomkins, Maloney and Kasiano, the other member of the Catalans quartet to make the Dream Team last season was winger Tom Davies.
Davies scored 14 tries last year while opposite winger Fouad Yaha chipped with 15, giving Catalans no shortage of finishing ability on the edges.
Samisoni Langi and Dean Whare completed a consistent threequarter line last year and retain their starting squad numbers as the centre pairing, although new signing May might come into the equation in that position if he isn’t handed a halfback role.
Mathieu Laguerre made his debut last season and the young centre will look to build on his nine appearances, while Arthur Romano will just be happy to get back onto the field after missing the whole of 2021 through injury.
THE YOUNGSTERS
The Dragons have named a 30-man squad for the 2022 season, but of those 30 players, only two were under the age of 21 at the start of 2022.
César Rougé will wear squad number 25 and he is a player of whom big things are expected.
Originating from Limoux, the youngster comes from a Rugby League family, making his debut for Limoux in 2020 at the age of 17.
In his Dragons debut last year he faced a stern test at St Helens but came through it strongly partnering James Maloney, while his second game saw him operating at hooker against Huddersfield Giants.
The other teenager in the Dragons’ ranks is Joe Chan, the son of the club’s general manager Alex Chan. Chan junior, who plays in the second row, made his Dragons’ debut off the bench in the Challenge Cup quarter-final in May, before making his Super League debut against Hull Kingston Rovers in early August. He impressed sufficiently to go on to make five more appearances, all of them off the bench and he will be looking for more chances in 2022.
A REALISTIC AIM FOR 2022
Catalans now must follow up a brilliant 2021 in which they won the League Leaders’ Shield and reached the Super League Grand Final, both for the very first time.
Having shown now that they can perform consistently over a whole season, and both home and away, their task is to prove that it was no flash in the pan and do it all over again.
Falling just short at the final hurdle should leave them more aware of the importance of peaking at the right time, and of the small margins that decide the biggest games against the best sides.
With a squad that might be even stronger than last year, there is no reason why Catalans shouldn’t aim to reach Old Trafford again and become Super League’s first French champions.
Squad numbers: 1 Arthur Mourgue, 2 Tom Davies, 3 Samisoni Langi, 4 Dean Whare, 5 Fouad Yaha, 6 Mitchell Pearce, 7 Josh Drinkwater, 8 Gil Dudson, 9 Michael McIlorum, 10 Julian Bousquet, 11 Matt Whitley, 12 Mike McMeeken, 13 Benjamin Garcia, 14 Alrix Da Costa, 15 Benjamin Jullien, 16 Paul Séguier, 17 Mickael Goudemand, 18 Matthieu Laguerre, 19 Arthur Romano, 20 Tyrone May, 21 Corentin Le Cam, 22 Dylan Napa, 23 Jordan Dezaria, 24 Mathieu Cozza, 25 César Rougé, 26 Romain Franco, 27 Joe Chan, 28 Sam Kasiano, 29 Sam Tomkins, 30 Florian Vailhen
Ins: Dylan Napa (Canterbury Bulldogs), Mitchell Pearce (Newcastle Knights), Tyrone May (Penrith Panthers)
Outs: Jason Baitieri (Lézignan), Lambert Belmas (Lézignan), James Maloney (Lézignan), Joel Tomkins (retired)
Coaching team
Head Coach: Steve McNamara
Assistant Coach: Thomas Bosc
Head of Performance: Matt Parr
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Jonathan Jones & Mathias Pala
Head of Medical: Rob Parkinson
Manager: Alex Chan
Doctor: Philippe Roques
Physio: Fabien Gonzalez
Kit Man: Christian Cozza
Welfare & Education Manager: Sandra Chevalier
Reserve Team Head Coach: Cyrille Gossard
Reserve team assistant: Vincent Duport
Reserve team Manager: Julien Touxagas
Reserve team Juniors coach: Justin Murphy
Women’s Head Coach: Cyril Torrès
Club management
Chairman: Bernard Guasch
Commercial Director: Christophe Levy
Head of Media & Communication: Yannick Rey
Stadium Manager: Lise Richet
Finance & Human Resources Manager: Chantal Biasotto
Head of Community Programme: Philippe Pidemunt
Head of Youth and Development: Bruno Castany
Club Colours
Home shirt: White shirt with Gold and red vee
Away shirt: Yellow with red bands
Betfred odds to win the Grand Final: 11/2
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