Catalans Dragons

Catalans Dragons boss hails key man and makes video referee complaint

by
Peter Smith
March 9, 2025

Delighted Catalans Dragons coach Steve McNamara singled out play-maker Theo Fages for special praise after the French side broke their Super League duck.

Catalans ended a run of three successive defeats at the start of the season with a hard-fought 11-0 victory over Leeds Rhinos at Stade Gilbert Brutus.

Scrum-half Fages was Sky TV’s man of the match in his comeback from a rib injury suffered in training last month and McNamara revealed the former Salford Red Devils, St Helens and Huddersfield Giants man did well just to get on the field.

Fages’ return allowed Reimis Smith to return to his regular position at centre and, speaking in his post-match press conference, McNamara said: “At the start of the season we lost Theo and Sam Tomkins and Guillermo [Aispuro-Bichet] and we were down in numbers, so it was great to have Theo back. He was ill before the game, so he has done well to go out there and play as well as he did.”

He added: “It was good to have some players back available, Reimis playing back in his usual position as well. We had some choice this week and we made some decisions to not play some players and to play some others.”

The Dragons boss described it as an “effort-based win”. He reflected: “It was a really tough match. The conditions were awful, the wind and rain at times made it really difficult to play, but I thought we got our identity back a little bit as a team.

“We want to play attractive rugby league, play with the ball more, score some good tries and make good breaks.

“I think we got caught somewhere in between over the past couple of weeks, but we got back to having some pretty brutal, strong defence and not worrying too much about the attacking side of our game. On nights like this, that’s important and we just did enough to win that game.”

The coach felt Dragons’ gritty effort was a better reflection of his team than earlier losses to Hull FC, Warrington Wolves and Leigh Leopards.

“We were a bit more like we needed to be,” McNamara said. “To get zero against us is really important.

“On a night like tonight it was going to be about picking up a scrap, a kick, a loose bit of play from the opposition or whatever and that’s what we did, that’s how we scored our points.”

Catalans Dragons broke the deadlock through a Luke Keary drop goal on the final play of the opening half, before Smith bagged his brace in the second period.

“I actually thought the one point just before half-time was really crucial in the grand scheme of things,” the coach said.

“We could have been 6-0 down, there was a disallowed try for Leeds for just being offside and then we got a drop goal, so instead of being six down at half-time, we were one up.

“When we scored the first try in the second half and went to seven points, then it gave us a bit of breathing space.

“It was the type of performance we needed tonight. We didn’t need a fancy one, we needed one built on hard work, having trust in each other and not stopping.

“We got fractured a few times, but we scrambled really well to stop that. Both teams were down to 12 men for a spell and had to work really hard.

“Leeds are a good team, they’ve shown that over the last couple of weeks; they’ve got some really good players and we did well to stop them scoring.”

One sour note was a series of stoppages to consult the video referee, over potential tries and captain’s challenges.

“It’s too long,” the Catalans Dragons said. “I understand trying to get the right decision, but it is taking too long. I think everyone’s of the same opinion so we need to try to find a solution to rectify that.”