Saints end Dragons 13 game winning run

Catalans Dragons swapped the sunshine of Perpignan for a wet Totally Wicked Stadium, but ultimately came away empty handed as they suffered a 34-12 defeat at the hands of back to back Super League champions St Helens.

The terrible weather conditions at the Totally Wicked Stadium added another dimension to an already hyped up fixture, as the top of the table Dragons headed into the game looking for a 13th consecutive win in Super League.

Poor discipline from Catalans, something that has been seen time and time again was a major contributor in their loss to St Helens.

Saints drew first blood inside the opening five minutes when a penalty to Catalans failed to find touch, with quick hands and calmness in the play producing the first score when Tommy Makinson crossed over in the corner.

Once again in trademark fashion Kristian Woolf’s side used their momentum to go over just two minutes later when man of the match Lewis Dodd latched on to a offload from Louie McCarthy Scarsbrook. A poor defensive start from the Dragons continued as discipline issues started to show with them giving away yet another penalty,  the third of the game in fact.

On the back of this Saints winger Regan Grace used his experience and managed to weave past the Dragons defenders on the far side to make it 16-0 after only 17 minutes.

The Dragons managed to kick themselves into life on the 24 minute mark with their first real chance of the game. Debutant Rouge found Matthieu Laguerre who powered his way over to make it 18-6 with James Maloney converting.

St Helens continued to add pressure to the Dragons defensive line and forced a penalty which saw Joe Chan sent to the sin bin for a shot on Sione Mata’utia. Fullback Lachlan Coote converted from in front of the sticks to make it 20-6 at the break.

The opening ten minutes of the second half saw both sides remain defensive. However, like the first half it was Saints who opened the scoring when halfback Jonny Lomax put in a pinpoint kick to Joe Batchelor who was first to the ball to touch down to give Saints a 24-6 lead.

Catalans did not let themselves down though and made use of an extra man when Sione Mata’utia was sin binned for light contact in a tackle. The Dragons went the most direct route to the try line as they ran the ball down the middle with Da Costa drawing out fullback Lachlan Coote. Costa passed back inside to Mickael Goudemand who touched down under the sticks.

A penalty kick on the 58th minute from Coote saw the hosts extend their lead further. Saints then all but secured victory when Coote latched on to an offload from Lewis Dodd.

Champions often have to show their prowess, and St Helens really showed that against the Dragons. A professional performance saw the Saints close the gap as they chase a league and cup double.

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