Catalans Dragons see off Hull FC with fighting spirit to the fore

In their decade-long lifespan in Super League, questions have regularly been levelled at Catalans Dragons – and understandably so – for their inability to win in different ways. On their own turf in Perpignan, wins have often been a formality, but doing it tough on English soil has often felt like the thing holding the Frenchmen back from a title challenge.

For a brief period last year, they looked to have addressed that issue before falling away to another mid-table finish – but this opening fortnight has provided the kind of moments which suggest Laurent Frayssinous is capable of producing a side that can win tough on both sides of the Channel.

A hard-earned win against Warrington in France on the opening weekend had already backed that theory up to a point, but this match had the air of one the Dragons would have almost certainly lost in recent years. Two rounds is not a significant enough barometer to suggest they can finally break the status quo at the top of Super League, but to have already beaten two of last season’s top four – one away from home – is encouraging to say the least.

“It’s a game we would have lost last year,” Frayssinous said. “We’re always perceived as a side who always want to play with the ball but here, we were really smart and we were really patient. We never performed against the top four last year so to have beaten Warrington and Hull already is pleasing – but we’ll stay humble.”

Upon his return to Perpignan, Greg Bird had long been tipped as a key player for Catalans in 2017 – and just a fortnight into his second stint with the club, the former Australia international looks to be every inch the leader the Dragons have so badly lacked on occasions in the past. “He’s a great player and a great man,” Frayssinous said of Bird. “I’m just grateful he’s in my side.”

Bird’s near-faultless performance was marred only by a first-half visit to the sin-bin, but the fact Hull could not take advantage when Catalans were down to 12 men was a microcosm of their evening. They have conceded only two tries in their first two fixtures but, following another disappointing performance in attack, it is safe to assume that their season is yet to get going.

After Hull won the Challenge Cup last season, the pre-season questions concerned how they would handle being one of the favourites in 2017. A fortnight in, it would be unfair to try to provide any definitive answers to those questions, but the post-match demeanour of Lee Radford emphasised just how much improvement remains to be made in his side.

“It’s a massive missed opportunity,” he said. “It was a real opportunity to get the fans on our side but to sling that performance in, especially with ball in hand, was unbelievably frustrating – some of it was painful to watch. Whether you’re playing Catalans or West Hull you just can’t win games playing like that.”

The Dragons trailed 8-4 at the interval following a first half which was littered with penalties – with 12 alone in the opening 25 minutes. One of those had enabled Marc Sneyd to put Hull ahead on a largely off-colour night for the scrum-half, before Luke Walsh responded with two of his own – he would finish with 12 of Catalans’ 16 points – to make it 4-2.

The second came while Bird was in the bin after a team warning from the referee, Robert Hicks, whose whistle-blowing was having a detrimental impact on the flow of a game which had simply been too stop-start for the liking of the 13,000-plus crowd in attendance.

However, Hull would produce one moment of note in the dying moments of the first half when Sika Manu’s offload enabled Carlos Tuimavave to cross and Sneyd’s conversion opened up a four-point half-time lead which, in a half with few clear-cut chances, felt a pivotal one.

Yet within 60 seconds of the restart, Catalans had broken downfield and gone ahead after a magnificent break started by Bird and finished by Richie Myler. Hull did go back ahead when Liam Watts – who was also shown a yellow card late on – scored an opportunistic try in the final quarter, but three more goals from the boot of Walsh and more savvy game-management from the Dragons secured a victory perhaps unlike any other we have seen from the French side in recent years.

Hull FC Shaul; Fonua, Tuimavave, Griffin, Talanoa; Connor, Sneyd; Taylor, Houghton, Watts, Manu, Minichiello, Ellis. Interchange Green, Thompson, Washbrook, Bowden.

Catalans Dragons Bosc; Broughton, Inu, Wiliame, Thornley; Walsh, Myler; Moa, Aiton, Casty, Garcia, Horo, Bird.

Interchange Anderson, Bousquet, Baiteri, Da Costa.

Referee R Hicks.