Catalans Dragons and St Helens set to meet for a place in the grand final

After finishing level on points in the regular season St Helens and the Catalans Dragons are set to go head-to-head for a place in the Super League grand final.

St Helens earned their trip to the south of France with a 16-8 victory in their week one playoff eliminator against the Warrington Wolves.

Form

Both teams are heading into the game on top form as they went unbeaten in September. Catalans demolished the Leeds Rhinos 61-0 in their last home game before securing their spot in the top two of the table with a battling 19-8 victory on the road at Salford.

St Helens finished their regular season with a comfortable 3-12 win over Hull FC before their 16-8 victory over Warrington in the first week of the playoffs. After racing out to an 8-0 half time lead the home side held off a second half charge from Warrington to keep their hopes of a fifth straight title alive.

Head to Head

The sides have met twice this year and the Catalans Dragons have come out victors on both occasions. The Dragons scored 12 unanswered points in the second half to win 24-12 in Perpignan before an Adam Keighran penalty was enough to edge Catalans to a 14-12 victory in the return fixture at the Totally Wicked Stadium. Mid Season signing Matt Ikavalu crossed in both games for the Dragons against St Helens this season and he’ll be looking to continue this streak if selected for Friday’s clash.

Squad news

The 21 man squads have been named ahead of the clash and they are packed with superstars. Headlined by man of steel nominees Tom Johnstone and Jack Welsby, both sides will be able to name what can be considered close to their strongest team for the grand final decider.

St Helens have made two changes to their squad from last week with Joe Batchelor missing the game following a hamstring injury picked up against Warrington while Dan Norman also makes way. They will be replaced by Matthew Foster and George Delaney. There is just one change for Catalans from their squad from round 27 with Siua Taukeiaho replacing Fouad Yaha.

Retiring heroes

The focus ahead of the game has been on the fact that Friday will see the end of the career of either Sam Tomkins or James Roby, who are both retiring at the end of this season. Both men are modern greats of the British game and have won everything possible domestically on a team and individual level.

One club man James Roby has played more games than anyone for St Helens and has been an ever-present in their side since his debut in 2004. On the pitch he has won six Super League grand finals, four Challenge Cups and two World Club Challenges as well as being named Man of Steel in 2007. He also represented England and Great Britain a combined 39 times between 2006 and 2018.

Tomkins on the other hand has plied his trade in three countries across his 15 year career. Starting at Wigan he won two grand finals and two challenge cups with the club before heading to the NRL where he spent two seasons with the New Zealand Warriors. He returned to Wigan where he won another grand final before moving to the Catalans Dragons in 2018. He has twice been named man of steel including in 2021, the year in which he and the Catalan Dragons lost out to St Helens 12-10 in the grand final.

The knowledge that they are playing to continue the career of two greats of the game is sure to motivate both sets of players and bring an extra level of tension and emotion to the match.

Prediction

Both sides are in peak form and I can’t picture it being anything other than a titanic tussle for a spot in the big dance. Although St Helens have more experience in the biggest games over the last five years I feel that the partisan home crowd will lift their side and spur the Catalans Dragons on to victory.

21 man squads

Catalans Dragons: 1. Arthur Morgue, 2. Tom Davies, 3. Adam Keighran, 6. Tyrone May, 7. Mitchell Pearce, 8. Mike McMeeken, 9. Micky McIlorum, 10. Julian Bousquet, 11. Matt Whitley, 12. Paul Séguier, 13. Benjamin Garcia, 14. Alrix Da Costa, 16. Romain Navarrete, 18. Tiaki Chan, 19. Arthur Romano, 21. Matt Ikuvalu, 22. Suia Taukeiaho, 23. Jordan Dezaria, 24. Tom Johnstone, 26. Manu Ma’u, 29. Sam Tomkins.

St Helens: 1. Jack Welsby, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Will Hopoate, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Jon Bennison, 6. Jonny Lomax, 7. Lewis Dodd, 8. Alex Walmsley, 9. James Roby, 10. Matty Lees, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 13. Morgan Knowles, 15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 16. Curtis Sironen, 19. James Bell, 21. Ben Davies, 22. Sam Royle, 23. Konrad Hurrell, 28. Matthew Foster, 30. George Delaney, 35. Moses Mbye.

Where to watch

The game kicks off at 8pm (UK time) and full coverage can be found on Sky Sports Mix.

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