***Rugby Super League XXVI (other RL chat welcome!)***

JRS

JRS

JRS

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Right then. Usual questions:

1) Your team? Catalans Dragons.
2) Your highlight of last season? Toss-up between les Dracs heading the table for a while, David Mead's hat trick against Trinity or nil'ing Castleford in the second half of that August tie.
3) Your expectations this season? Normally I'm a bit down with this question, but screw it - I'm expecting playoffs :)
4) Your most anticipated new signings? Hoping Mike McMeeken proves useful for us. Also looks like we might have signed Dean Whare from the Penrith Panthers (***edit*** we have. Replacing David Mead. Gonna need these new signings too with a family emergency taking Israel Folau home for the foreseeable future). And then there's Corentin Le Cam, more on him in a bit.
5) Who you think will win the league leaders shield? St Helens.
6) Who will be the dark horses of the competition? I'd like to see Huddersfield get their **** together.
7) Likely starting line-up? Not sure yet, but Benjamin Garcia has been named Captain to succeed Remi Casty.
8) Final league position of your club? 3rd.
9) What (or who) will be your clubs weakness next year? Travel.
10) Who promoted from Championship? Toulouse. Please please please Toulouse!

While waiting for the season to start I've been watching the Elite 1 matches from France. St Esteve (les Dracs' reserves and juniors) have been playing some good rugby. Now here's where I first saw 21 year old Corentin Le Cam play, and I did a double take the first time I saw him.

Corentin Le Cam is six foot nine tall.

*blink*

He might genuinely be too tall for the game - certainly his height would be more useful in the other code! But McNamara has been talking him up and saying that he'll be knocking on the door of the Super League squad this season. His reach has already proven tough to deal with - there was a bit of a scrap on-field during a match in December and none of the opposing players wanted to take him on :D He waded in to restore calm in the end. Local French media regards him highly, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can do in Super League.

***edit***

Regarding Dean Whare. When he was first mooted as being on les Dracs' radar I was trying to recall a try that I'd seen. Then I remembered - he didn't score it, but it was a hell of an offload that led to it:

 
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TonyM19

TonyM19

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1) Your team? Wigan
2) Your highlight of last season? Nothing really jumps out. There was a big improvement follwing the debacle against Leeds in the CC. Still in therapy from the GF :)
3) Your expectations this season? Should be top 4.
4) Your most anticipated new signings? Interesting to see if George Burgess is replaced with somebody of similar quality, but delighted that Bateman is back. He's a real leader. Can't see why they signed Jai Field - maybe it was when they thought Hastings was leaving
5) Who you think will win the league leaders shield? St Helens.
6) Who will be the dark horses of the competition? Huddersfield. Good sigings and a good new coach
7) Likely starting line-up?

French
Manfredi
Hardaker
Glidart
Marshall (when fit)
Hastings
Leuluai
Bullock
Powell
Singleton
Farrell
Smithies
Bateman

Still look a bit lightweight upfront, but we've been saying that for years now. Looks a pretty handy team though :)

8) Final league position of your club? Top 4.
9) What (or who) will be your clubs weakness next year? Bit of uncertainty around ownership at the moment.
10) Who promoted from Championship? Toulouse.
 

TonyM19

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Few whispers that Harry Smith might be at Bradford next season on a season long loan. Still a bit of a msytery to Wigan fans why the club signed Jai Field when they had halfbacks of Leuluai/Hastings/Smith and potentially French. Gives a bit more weight to the rumour that they were convinced Hastings and/or French wasn't coming back (and we believe they are both still in Australia right now). I think Smith has a big future and needs game time. Hastings will almost certainly be back in the NRL in 2022 so a season with a top coach like Kear wouldn't do him any harm. Be better if he could get a SL spot, but he's better playing 80 minutes each week in the Championship that minutes here and there in SL.

Good news about Trent Robinson taking a role with the French national team.
 

JRS

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St Helens 29 - 6 Salford. Few shocks there.

But Leigh vs Wigan...I think there may be some surprise in the Wigan camp that they found themselves 18-0 down before the rally back to beat them. I'd say 18-20 flatters Wigan, to be honest.
 

JRS

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Wakefield 22-28 Leeds in the earlier match today. And as I type this it's half-time for les Dracs - leading KR 18 to 4 :cool:

***edit***

Bloody hell...

Some...*ahem* interesting refereeing let KR back into the game and so the 80 minutes ended 28-28. But some nifty work and a beautifully executed drop goal saved it for Dragons.

***edit 2***

Mathieu Laguerre was named man of the match. Hard to disagree. He's one of four youngsters promoted from the academy and Elite One side to play for the main team (the others being Mathieu Cozza, Corentin Le Cam and Joe Chan). The boy is good :)
 
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TonyM19

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I'd say 18-20 flatters Wigan, to be honest.

That's a fair comment. Leigh were steaming in for the first 20 minutes, but I always felt that Wigan would get them at the back of each half. Wgan have been struggling for a big, metre making prop for years now. Thought they'd solved it with George Burgess, but that didn't work out. They usually have powerful wingers to make yards (Manfredi etc), but they were missing them this week. Wakefield next. A real bogey team for the past few seasons.
 

TonyM19

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A disaster for a young player in his first game. In another world he scoops that loose ball up and is under the sticks. In this one he is recovering from an operation on his own on the other side of the world from his family.

It's not a record for a new signing, in 2006 Wigan lost Luke Davico after 40s of a pre season friendly with a torn pectoral muscle. Never played for Wigan again.
 

JRS

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Would the Huddersfield players like to stop tackling the Catalans at nose-height please? We're running out of blood-free shirts :rolleyes:

Huddersfield 6-12 Catalans currently.

***edit***

A superb break from Tom Davies and a ~80m run ends in an offload to McMeeken and another try :) 6-20 at half-time.
 
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TonyM19

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Not the start Huddersfield fans were expecting with the new coach etc.

Sam Tomkins is looking good. Nailed on for an international recall?

I thought Hardaker looks good at fb for Wigan. Be interesting to see what happens when French is available.

Jackson Hastngs - if you're going, just go. You're doing our heads in
 

JRS

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