Betfred Super League
Leigh (6) 16
Tries: Niu 2, Senior Goals: Cook 2
Catalans (6) 22
Tries: Wilson, Staines, Dodd Goals: Sexton 5
Catalans Dragons returned to winning ways following back-to-back Super League defeats with a narrow victory at Leigh Leopards.
Tries from Harvey Wilson, Charlie Staines and Lewis Dodd breathed new fire into the Dragons following disappointing defeats by St Helens and Bradford Bulls in their past two matches.
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Tesi Niu scored two terrific tries for Leigh, either side of winger Innes Senior’s score, but it proved to be in vain for the hosts.
Leigh have now lost three Super League matches in a row and will need to see an improvement in performances if they are to be in the play-off shake-up again this year.
The visitors’ preparation for the match was hit when a mechanical fault on their plane from Perpignan forced them to make an emergency landing in Bordeaux, meaning their journey to Greater Manchester took 16 hours to complete.
And they were dealt a further blow before kick-off when winger Tommy Makinson picked up an injury in the warm-up and had to be replaced in the starting line-up by Leo Darrelatour.
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In the eighth minute, Leigh took advantage when excellent hands from Lachlan Lam allowed stand-in full-back Gareth O’Brien to find Senior, who raced clear before setting up Niu to slide in for a superb team try. Adam Cook added the extras superbly from the touchline.
Lam was then adjudged to have blocked off Nick Cotric’s attempts to challenge for a high ball, and after Catalans were awarded another set of six deep in Leigh territory, Wilson went over determinedly for his first Super League try of the season under the sticks.
Catalans then went close to taking the lead before the break but Darrelatour was pushed into touch when attempting to score in the left corner.
Leigh’s Tesi Niu finished an excellent team move to open the scoring [SWpix]
Moments after the restart, Toby Sexton kicked Catalans into a slight advantage in front of the sticks after Liam Horne was found guilty of a ball steal.
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A beautiful offload from Wigan Warriors loanee Kruise Leeming – one of 11 new signings from last season in Catalans’ matchday squad – allowed Sexton to charge forward before he found Staines, who finished an exceptional move from close range.
Catalans’ two-score lead lasted less than five minutes though as O’Brien found Niu and he passed to winger Senior, who dived over in the left corner unopposed.
A no-look pass from Lam then went loose and was pounced upon by Darrelatour. He raced 80 yards and intelligently recycled the ball before Sexton found fellow half-back Dodd for a crucial third try for the away side.
With 15 minutes left, Niu pulled off the moment of the match, picking the ball up deep in his own half, skipping a challenge from Cotric, before deceiving Staines with excellent footwork to dive over for a wonderful individual score.
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In the dying moments, Leigh piled on the pressure in their quest to find a winning score, but excellent defending from the Dragons snuffed out their attempts, and the visitors put the seal on the win through Sexton’s fifth successful kick shortly before the hooter sounded.
‘We lacked club’s DNA’ – reaction
Leigh head coach Adrian Lam told BBC Radio Manchester:
“Frustrating again tonight. We had plenty of opportunities again to win that game but it just felt like it was never really in our favour the whole time.
“There were turning points like the intercept try. [If] we nail the skill there, we score the try and we probably win the game – that was probably the most frustrating part.
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“It’s [been] a tough night. There was plenty of effort but we lacked the game-sense. It’s hard to watch at times and we’re struggling to put together two to three sets of attacks.
“We only had 19 [players] to pick from but that’s not an excuse. We lacked the DNA of us as a club.
“We couldn’t score points when we needed them most and that’s what we did really well last year so we’re a long way behind our best at the moment”.
Catalans Dragons head coach Joel Tomkins told Sky Sports:
“I’m really, really proud of the boys. They had a bit of a nightmare journey yesterday. The scramble, the desire and just the work for each other, they never gave in, and I thought we got what we deserved tonight.
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“We’ve got a few injuries at the minute, but what we have got is a group of lads who are willing to work hard.
“We might not be the most experienced group, but they’re going to come in and they’re going to work hard for each other. On the back of that, they’ll get results.
“In the week, we had some honest conversations, and it’s going to be a long season for us if we turn out performances like we did last week. If we turn out performances like we did tonight, then it’ll be a really enjoyable one.”
[On his side’s journey to Leigh:] “Obviously, its not perfect preparation but we never have perfect preparation – we average eight to 10 hours [of] travel [for away fixtures].
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“That’s part of playing for Catalans. It’s a special group to be a part of – living in the south of France and playing in the English Super League.
“We don’t whinge about it, we use it as a connection piece for the group. We might do some connecting flights for a few more away games if we turn up like that.”
Leigh: O’Brien; Senior, Niu, Brand, Charnley; Cook, Lam; Trout, McNamara, Mulhern, Halton, Alick-Wiencke, Liu.
Interchanges: Hughes, Brown, Badrock, Horne.
Catalans: Staines; Darrelatour, Cotric, Faataape, Laulu-Togaga’e; Sexton, Dodd; Allen, Da Costa, Navarrete, Laguerre, Lipowicz, Wilson.
Interchanges: Satae, Condon, Leeming, Chan.
Referee: Marcus Griffiths.
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