The final televised Super League match of the weekend takes place on Saturday afternoon when the Catalans Dragons take on St Helens in Perpignan. Having seen Warrington lose on Friday night the Dragons have the chance to take second place in the table going into next week. St Helens will be looking to win to close the gap on the Wolves.
Catalans Dragons
Catalans defeat to Wakefield at the Magic Weekend was their only defeat in their last five matches and they will know they should have won that match too. This is a side in decent form and unlike in previous years they look to be getting stronger in this campaign.
One of the reasons for that is the depth in their squad which has allowed the coaching staff to rest and rotate players when they need to in order to keep them much fresher for this gruelling Super League campaign. The team is clearly reaping the benefits of that.
St Helens
If the Dragons are in excellent form the former champions certainly aren’t. Their only win in their last five came against Salford in what was a pretty tame match but they have lost their last three matches and shipped 106 points in the process.
Injuries have been a real issue for St Helens all season and that explains their inconsistencies. It also explains why their defence has leaked points for so long. Usually they are quite tight on defence but they’ll certainly need to be a lot better in that department here that is for sure.
Team News
Catalans Dragons welcome Dave Taylor and Pat Richards back for this match. Vincent Duport and Willie Mason have picked up injuries though so they will miss out in this game. Their absences could be felt if the game is tight.
St Helens remain without Luke Walsh and he is a huge loss. He is the one who drives them down the field and creates havoc in defences. Theo Fages is another who is capable of that and he’ll be aiming to step up and fill the boots of the Aussie. Mark Percival is back from injury while Shannon McDonnell has been recalled.
Betting
It is hard to like St Helens here. Catalans Dragons have won their last three matches against St Helens and earlier in the season their win was convincing and emphatic. Since then St Helens have only got weaker while the Dragons are still as strong if not stronger.
These will be tough conditions for any St Helens side to play in but one that is lacking a bit of creativity in the halves and that game changing defence splitter is really going to struggle. A lot of work is going to have to go through their forwards and the tanks can empty quite quickly in energy zapping conditions.
That is why Catalans are so good in France. They have a back line who can all carry the ball into contact and ease the load of the forwards but when they get in the danger zone in Carney and Bosc they have the men who can open defences up. I can only see a Catalans win here and one which is by double figures.
Tips
WON – Back Catalans Dragons (-8) to beat St Helens for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Ladbrokes
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