Is everyone ready for the trip to Catalan Dragons?
We’re looking forward to it.
To be honest, I don’t think there’s a Super League side who doesn’t enjoy going down there, even though you’re always guaranteed a very hard game.
As well as the game itself, it’s the chance for the squad to get away and spend some time together, which I know the players always look forward to. They’re a very close-knit bunch.
On top of that, there’s always a great atmosphere inside the ground, and because the weather’s usually good, you get the chance to play some good footy. That’s something we’re relishing!
After the last couple of weeks and all the heavy rain, it’ll be great to spend a couple of days with the sun on your back, fingers crossed!
Yet, having said that, we’re certainly relieved we’re not having to go there two weeks on the bounce.
Our biggest fear when the Challenge Cup draw was made the other day was facing the prospect of a second trip to Catalan in the space of seven days.
All the travel involved in going to the South of France once a year is manageable, but the prospect of flying back on Sunday and then having to fly back for a Cup-tie a couple of days later doesn’t bear thinking about.
So how big a challenge are you expecting against the Dragons?
It’s always massive.
As I’ve said, the travel alone is a challenge, because it’s so different for us.
But then, when we take to the field, we know we’re going to be up against a very good, physical side.
And they’re a side who are getting better and better year after year.
Although we’re top of the table, everyone is tipping the usual four sides to finish top in Wigan, Warrington, St Helens and Leeds, and then the side people seem to be tipping after that are Catalan.
They’re the only team we haven’t played so far this season, so it’ll be interesting to see how we’ll do against each other.
All being well, it’ll be another good contest.
We were unlucky to lose to them out there last year by one point.
But the few times before that we’ve done quite well, so we’re obviously hoping we can repeat those sort of results this weekend.
Is the key to beating Catalans matching them physically in the forwards?
It certainly helps!
There’s no doubt the Dragons are physical and quite committed and, if you let their pack get the better of you, you could find yourselves in trouble.
When Leeds beat them comfortably at Headingley the other week, (Rhinos coach) Brian McDermott said the forwards did a good job physically to beat them, so it’s vital you get that part right.
But Catalan aren’t simply a side who are straight up and down. They’ve got footwork, unloads and tip-ons, which means they’ve got some footy in them.
In other words, they present you with a lot of different challenges, and we’ve got to be ready to deal with that.
In the second half of Sunday’s Cup win against Swinton, you seemed to have one eye on this weekend’s League game. Was that the case?
I wouldn’t say that, no.
We did move people around into different positions and tried one or two different things.
But that wasn’t the reason we didn’t score at the same rate as in the first half.
Full credit to Swinton for the way they played, they put together some good stuff and really challenged us at times.
Because of that, I was delighted with the attitude we showed to prevent them from scoring in that second half when the game was won.
Individually, Dale Ferguson was named the man-of-the-match. After an injury-hit start to his year, you must have been pleased for him?
Yes, I was, because it’s been a tough couple of months for Fergy.
He definitely put in a big effort for us against Swinton in that Cup game.
He played prop and played for about 75 minutes, which really was a good stint by anyone’s standard.
I was also particularly pleased for Jamie Cording, who marked his first senior appearances this years with two tries.
And Scott Moore will have benefited from his first run-out.
He had a bit of a blow, we then gave him a short breather and got him back out there.
That’s bound to stand him in good stead for the challenges that lie ahead.
