CATALANS DRAGONS 11 LEEDS RHINOS 0
STEVE BRADY, Stade Gilbert Brutus, Saturday
LEEDS were stifled in the south of France by a Catalans side desperate to put a winning spark into their season.
Three straight defeats for the French club were all but forgotten with a gruelling slog of a win as Les Dracs relit their fire for 2025 – but only just, after a hard-fought battle that went all the way to the wire.
The Rhinos, with halfback Brodie Croft back from concussion protocols, were in a decent position with just a slender 1-0 half-time deficit, but couldn’t prevent a second-half double from Reimis Smith which saw the home side register their first points of the campaign.
Leeds started the brighter with a clear try-scoring chance for fullback Jake Connor but he fumbled the ball over the line. The Rhinos were unsuccessful with their captain’s challenge, ruling any further appeal out of the game in the third minute.
A Connor 20/40 kick into the wind put Leeds on the offensive after a lengthy period of stalemate but the Rhinos couldn’t take advantage, coughing up possession on the next tackle.
Catalans went a man down when Romain Navarrete was sin-binned for an apparent hip-drop on Leeds hooker Andy Ackers after 30 minutes, but the numbers were evened just before the break when Connor received a yellow card for a crusher tackle on Dragons captain Ben Garcia.
Leeds almost scored in the 39th minute when Jake Frawley was denied from a clever kick to the posts, the video referee ruling him offside.
Instead it was the Dragons who went into the shed one point ahead when stand-off Luke Keary landed a drop-goal as the half-time hooter blew.
The Dragons came out breathing fire in the second half and a mistake from Harry Newman allowed centre Smith to strike for the first try of the game, converted by Arthur Mourgue.
Leeds scrum-half Matt Frawley left the field in the 50th minute for a head-injury assessment, from which he failed to return. For Catalans, there was better news as Elliott Whitehead passed his own head test moments later.
Catalans sealed the game with a second try for Smith in the 72nd minute when he capitalised from short range on a mistake by Leeds debutant Ethan Clark-Wood.
Tariq Sims thought he had put some gloss on the win with a late dive over the line but the video referee spotted a juggle of the ball in the approach.
Another trip to Perpignan with nil-points in the bag for the Rhinos – remarkably a third successive blank there – left coach Brad Arthur scratching his head but his opposite number Steve McNamara was delighted with a hard-earned, defensive first win of the season.
GAMESTAR: Reimis Smith showed class and timing to pounce for two tries which sealed the game.
GAMEBREAKER: Smith’s second-half try put the game to bed, after a mistake from Ethan Clark-Wood allowed him to pounce over the line.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: In a dour slog, Smith’s second touchdown was the only move of exceptional note, albeit scored from a six-inch range.
ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Reimis Smith (Catalans)
2 pts Théo Fages (Catalans)
1 pt Brodie Croft (Leeds)
MATCHFACTS
DRAGONS
7 Arthur Mourgue
2 Tommy Makinson
23 Matthieu Laguerre
4 Reimis Smith
5 Nick Cotric
6 Luke Keary
21 Théo Fages
8 Tevita Pangai Jr
9 Ben Garcia
10 Julian Bousquet
11 Tariq Sims
12 Elliott Whitehead
13 Oliver Partington
Subs (all used)
14 Alrix Da Costa
15 Tevita Satae
16 Romain Navarrete
19 Paul Séguier
18th man (not used)
3 Arthur Romano
Also in 21-man squad
1 Sam Tomkins
22 Fouad Yaha
24 Franck Maria
Tries: Smith (43, 72)
Goals: Mourgue 1/2
Field-goals: Keary (40)
Sin bin: Navarrete (28) – hip-drop tackle
RHINOS
18 Jake Connor
23 Riley Lumb
3 Harry Newman
4 Ash Handley
27 Ethan Clark-Wood (D)
6 Brodie Croft
7 Matt Frawley
8 Mikolaj Oledzki
9 Andy Ackers
10 Keenan Palasia
16 Morgan Gannon
12 James McDonnell
11 James Bentley
Subs (all used)
14 Jarrod O’Connor
15 Sam Lisone
17 Cooper Jenkins
20 Jack Sinfield
18th man (not used)
21 Alfie Edgell
Also in 21-man squad
1 Lachlan Miller
5 Ryan Hall
22 Tom Nicholson-Watton
Sin bin: Connor (37) – crusher tackle
SCORING SEQUENCE: 1-0; 7-0, 11-0
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Dragons: Reimis Smith; Rhinos: Brodie Croft
Penalty count: 5-6
Half-time: 1-0
Referee: Aaron Moore
Attendance: 8,125