Catalans Dragons head coach Steve McNamara has named his 21-Man squad for the Super League round 2 against Leigh on Saturday.
Sam Tomkins and Arthur Romano replace Mitchell Pearce and Siua Taukeiaho.
Pearce and Taukeiaho were set to play against Wakefield but dropped out of the side late due to calf and knee injuries respectively.
Former Wigan Warriors star and two-time Man of Steel Tomkins returns to the squad much earlier than expected.
Here is the squad:
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πππΜπ πππ‘πΜ πππ ππππππSteve McNamara a dΓ©voilΓ© son groupe pour le retour Γ Brutus face Γ @LeighLeopardsRL
π«π· https://t.co/ZJYdHv6J3T
π¬π§ https://t.co/4C8wQwdvFP pic.twitter.com/gkcXpvSCFs— Dragons Catalans (@DragonsOfficiel) February 23, 2023
After losing to last year’s semi-finalists Salford Red Devils last week at home in a closely contested battle at the Leigh Sports Village in front of a party atmosphere, the Leopards head to France this weekend in another test of Super League’s new boys.
The French side finished in the top four for the third season in a row last year and started the season with a win away at Wakefield Trinity.
They are expected to make it two wins from two against the Leopards on Saturday but the Leopards have named a strong squad for the game.
In terms of their first 13 squad numbers, only number six Joe Mellor misses out with Gareth O’Brien expected to continue in the halves.
Aaron Smith is included in the squad as an option at nine. In Round One, Matty Davis made his debut for the Leopards after joining from Warrington Wolves at hooker with Edwin Ipape starting the season on the bench, where he played his best rugby last year.
It will be interesting to see if Smith gets game time at hooker this weekend.
New signing from Wigan Warriors Umyla Hanley again misses out whilst Ben Reynolds will be pushing O’Brien and Lachlan Lam for a spot in the halves.
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The gaffer has named his twenty-one man squad to face @DragonsOfficiel in Perpignan on Saturday. π#Leythers pic.twitter.com/obUD2W5zgF
— Leigh Leopards (@LeighLeopardsRL) February 23, 2023
