16 September 2023 , 04:39
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Steve McNamara insists there’s no pressure on his Catalans side to nail top spot.
The French outfit had been No1 for most of the season until back-to-back losses against Wigan and Hull KR saw them knocked off. They recovered with an 18-10 win at Wakefield last Friday to head into this penultimate round in second spot but level on points with leaders Wigan and third-placed St Helens. Les Dracs host Leeds on Saturday bidding to stay in the running for their second League Leaders’ Shield having also lifted that crown in 2021.
And they will be desperate to atone after being hammered 34-0 by Wigan on their last appearance at Stade Gilbert Brutus a fortnight ago. But ex-England boss McNamara, vying for Catalans’ first Super League title after losing their maiden Grand Final two years ago, insisted: “The most important thing is to build momentum going into the back end of the year.
“We’ve had a good season, we’ve put ourselves in a good position and now we want to finish on a high. That was a hard victory for us away from home against a desperate team last week. Quite clearly we weren’t happy with our performances the two weeks before that so it’s a step in the right direction and it’s a continuation of that going into the Leeds game.
“Clearly, we’re in the play-offs - we don’t know where we’ll finish at this stage - but we want to be going in there playing well and in form. And, of course, the last time we played at home we under-performed. The opposition were great and we’d like to put that straight, without a doubt. But the key is building.”
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And McNamara is adamant his side, who round off at play-off-chasing Salford on Friday, can launch a title assault from wherever they finish. On whether the League Leaders’ Shield is something Catalans will obsess about, he said: “You start the season off and want to make the top-six and play-offs.
Catlans Dragons' coach Steve McNamara is confident his side can bounce back (Craig Cresswell/News Images)“If you’re in the play-offs you want to finish as high as you possibly can. The top two gives you the greatest advantage in the current play-off system and, of course, if you’re in the top two you want to try and finish number one. It’s something we achieved in 2021. It didn’t mean we went on and won the Grand Final which was disappointing for us.
"It’s a really good thing to achieve if you can but the reality is you need to finish as high as you possibly can, in good form and with your players fit and fresh, that’s the most important thing. If that means you finish first, second or third for us this season, then so be it.”
At the other end of the spectrum, last season’s beaten Grand Finalists Leeds are in a mess after they failed to qualify for the top-six, ironically, having also been nilled at home to Wigan a week ago in a humiliating 50-0 thrashing. Rhinos, who won an elimination play-off in Perpignan last year, have subsequently endured plenty of navel gazing. But on the eight-time champions’ downturn, McNamara insisted: “That’s their bag. That’s their business. They go about their own stuff in their own way.
“They are a giant of the game in terms of name but have not quite performed at the level they’ve wanted to this season. But we all have our reasons, adversities, things that have happened during the season at certain times and I’m sure they’ll bounce back. When you’ve been beaten 50 nil the week before, you’re going to get a response. And that’s what will happen.”
With full-back Arthur Morgue succumbing to a rib injury at Wakefield, ex-Penrith half Tyrone May comes in for his 100th career appearance, Sam Tomkins switching to No1. McNamara said: “Arthur was very close to being available for selection but we’ve got players like Tyrone who had time out last week to get himself fully ready, refreshed and ready to go. And Sam can play full-back as we know. We’re at that point of the season where we won’t take any risks.”
Leeds could give debuts to teenagers Alfie Edgell and Riley Lumb as well as reserve grade prop Tom Nicholson-Watton, 20, who all travel.