Match Report: Catalans Dragons vs Hull FC

Match Report: Catalans Dragons vs Hull FC

Hull FC fell to back to back defeats for just the second time in 2022 after a tough afternoon in the South of France, going down 36-8 to Catalans Dragons.

Club News

Hull FC fell to back to back defeats for just the second time in 2022 after a tough afternoon in the South of France, going down 36-8 to Catalans Dragons.

Brett Hodgson’s men were unable to get a foothold in the game against a strong Catalans Dragons side, who led at half time thanks to Mike McMeeken, Fouad Yaha and Mickael Goudemand, with second half scores coming from Samisoni Langi, Mitchell Pearce and Tyrone May.

Hull hit back thanks to a second half tries from Josh Griffin and Darnell McIntosh but that wasn’t to be enough against a dominant Dragons side.

Equally concerning for Hull will be further injury problems as Adam Swift and Carlos Tuimavave were forced from the field, whilst Connor Wynne also battled a knee problem of his own throughout the match.

Team News

Brett Hodgson was forced into as many as four changes from last week’s game at Wakefield Trinity, with a number of injuries picked up since the fixture at the Be Well Support Stadium.

As expected, Jake Connor missed out on the trip to the South of France as he begins he rehab from a knee injury that will keep him sidelined until the closing weeks of the campaign, with Jamie Shaul returning to a familiar role at full back.

Scott Taylor served his one match, but was replaced in the starting side by Ligi Sao, who returned from a knee injury. Also returning from a knock was Carlos Tuimavave, who replaced Cam Scott at centre, whilst Josh Griffin moved from the bench to back row, with the bench spot taken by Jordan Johnstone to replace Jordan Lane who missed out through injury.

Meanwhile, Steve McNamara made three changes to his side after last week’s game against Huddersfield Giants, with Samisoni Langi the headline change, after eight weeks on the sidelines with injury. Mickael Goudemand and Julian Bousquet also returned for the Dragons.

The Match

Catalans started the brighter of the two teams, but took until almost the quarter of an hour mark to break the deadlock.

The Dragons try came after Hull were pinged for back to back penalties to give the French side field position, with Tyrone May finding Mike McMeeken with a short pass, and the Londoner had the pace and power to find the tryline.

Shortly afterwards Catalans added a further two points to their tally after Josh Reynolds tackled Julian Bousquet high, with Sam Tomkins sending the ball into the 800 Hull fans behind the posts.

Hull’s defence was equal to the Dragons attack, and the Black & Whites created a number of promising opportunities of their own, but after inventive play between Josh Reynolds and Josh Griffin didn’t pay off Sam Tomkins won the Dragons a penalty to send the ball deep into Hull’s half.

The Dragons created space on Hull’s right after neat offloads from Mattieu Lagguere and Matt Whiteley, the second of which sent Fouad Yaha over in the corner.

Before Hull could touch the ball again, Catalans struck with their third try of the night. Ben Thaler in the video referee box decided Mitchell Pearce hadn’t touched the ball before it hit his knees, and the New South Wales representative passed to Mickael Goudemand who was able to reach out and score, with Sam Tomkins maintaining his 100% record to send the French side in twenty points to the good at half time.

Half Time: Catalans Dragons 20 – 0 Hull FC

After a disappointing first half, Hull came out after the restart much brighter and got their first points of the match just five minutes into the second half.

Earning a repeat set after Luke Gale’s kick was played at by a Dragons man, Josh Griffin had the ball in space and hit Samisoni Langi with a big fend and spun out of the tackle to reach over the line.

It took less than five minutes for Catalans to hit back, with Samisoni Langi crossing for the Dragons. Mitchell Pearce made the most of good field position and found the Tongan centre with an accurate wide pass to cross.

The afternoon went from bad to worse for the Black & Whites as Catlos Tuimavave was carried off the field after lengthy treatment with an ankle injury. With Adam Swift already ruled out for the afternoon with an injury of his own the Black & Whites were forced into a reshuffle with Joe Lovodua at centre and Ligi Sao finishing the match at back-row.

The Black & Whites struck again to start the final ten minutes of the match, after nice play from Darnell McIntosh got Hull into promising position. Hull forced an error deep in Dragons territory which was converted into points as McIntosh crossed for the fifth game in a row, taking a wide pass from Jamie Shaul to dive over in the corner.

With five minutes on the clock Catalans ruled out any potential hopes of a comeback, as Mitchell Pearce pounced on a Hull error to cross under the posts, which Sam Tomkins converted.

For the second time of the afternoon the Dragons scored from the kick-off set, as Pearce’s fellow half Tyrone May added another, taking Fouad Yaha’s pass to score under the posts.

Full Time: Catalans Dragons 36 – 8 Hull FC

The Line-ups:

Catalans Dragons: Sam Tomkins, Tom Davies, Samisoni Langi, Matthieu Laguerre, Fouad Yaha, Tyrone May, Mitchell Pearce, Dylan Napa, Michael McIlorum, Julian Bousquet, Matt Whitley, Mike McMeeken, Ben Garcia; Alex Chan, Arthur Morgue, Mickael Goudemand, Sam Kasiano

Hull FC: Jamie Shaul, Darnell McIntosh, Carlos Tuimavave, Connor Wynne, Adam Swift, Josh Reynolds, Luke Gale, Ligi Sao, Danny Houghton, Kane Evans, Josh Griffin, Manu Ma’u, Brad Fash; Chris Satae, Jack Brown, Joe Lovodua, Jordan Johnstone

Scorers:

Catalans Dragons: McMeeken, Yaha, Goudemand, Langi, Pearce, May | Tomkins 6/7

Hull FC: Griffin, McIntosh | Gale 0/2

Campbell Engineering Man of the Match: Danny Houghton