Kevin Brown
Former England international half-back on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

That was a beautifully weighted kick by Josh Drinkwater. That's what he's done for the last 10 years.

Unbelievable weight and an easy put down for Fouad Yaha.

Another brooha as Samisoni Langi smashes Joe Batchelor in midfield, the Catalans man really shutting down the play on the last.

Meanwhile, Catalans down to 12 still, but Gil Dudson not far away from coming back after his sin-bin.

Then Mark Percival garrottes Catalans' Tom Davies with a high arm and it's a Dragons penalty.

Kevin Brown
Former England international half-back on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Catalans have been the better team from the start. Territory wise they've been better, possession. They'll be happy with how this first 10 minutes has gone without Gil Dudson.

We're really into the arm-wrestle now. A full-pelt, ferocious arm-wrestle, but an arm-wrestle all the same.

Savagery in the carries on both sides.

Image source, Rex Features

Saints try to spread the ball wide to Will Hopoate, trying to get him one on one, but he's put into touch by Josh Drinkwater.

Smart play from Catalans, as Samisoni Langi made a tackle, stopped Hopoate and then peeled away to allow Drinkwater to put the man in touch.

Mike McMeeken offloads under the posts as Catalans surge forward.

However, the ball is poached by the Saints cover.

Saints then power forward through Alex Walmsley and get a penalty from Ben Garcia's over-zealous efforts at the ruck.

Matt Whitley flicked the ball up in the air and thus Fouad Yaha's touchdown on the back of it denies Catalans a try.

Saints get away with it. Scrum for the Catalans 10 away from the Saints line.

And a penalty for a scrum break. Liam Moore has given a differential penalty. Which you can't kick. But I thought that law had changed in 2022?!

The first set and a bit has been played at 100 mph.

Kick over the top was fumbled by Jack Welsby in the Saints side, and as Catalans came in to try to pounce, I think Matt Whitley knocked on.

Phew. All going on.

Gil Dudson has been sin-binned for Catalans Dragons, after throwing a few shots on the back of the holding down.

Penalty goes Catalans way, but they're down to 12 for 10.

Happy new season...

It's all kicking off from the first hit-up by Gil Dudson.

Saints came booming in through Joe Batchelor and Konrad Hurrell. Wouldn't let the big Welshman up.

Then everyone came flying it. Proper. That was a moment five months in the making I think.

Liam Moore is the referee tonight, while James Child is the man in the video referee truck.

The lightshow is done. Huddles complete. The hooter has sounded.

Here we go. The 2022 Super League season is under way. Saints get us going. Catalans get first dibs.

Image source, SWPIX.COM

For fans of big collisions, tonight's game promises so much.

Big Alex Walmsley is like a sledgehammer, but so too is Catalans import Dylan Napa.

Saints forward Matty Lees is one of those tyro forwards, no respecter of reputations. Gil Dudson is a proper old-school front-rower on the opposite side.

Curtis Sironen is all rawboned back-row power for the hosts, while big Londoner Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook is still an enforcer of note and Agnatius Paasi a wrecking-ball too.

Then you've got the hulking Sam Kasiano, athletic-framed Jordan Dezaria and French powerhouse Julian Bousquet.

Apologies if I've missed anyone. I'd be here all day.

Image source, SWPIX.COM

Both these sides have a pleasing amount of young talent in their ranks.

Saints have put their money where their mouth is in terms of promoting that talent; Jack Welsby and Lewis Dodd are just 20 years apiece, which is young in rugby league terms, but both have shirt numbers befitting the trust put in them.

Even the likes of Morgan Knowles and Matt Lees are hardly veterans - in their mid-20s.

Mind you, Catalans have gone for a more experienced line-up tonight, but they do have the magic of Arthur Mourgue waiting in the wings for later in the campaign.

Image source, Getty Images

What do you do when having made your first Grand Final, talismanic half-back James Maloney retires?

How about sign his old Origin partner Mitchell Pearce as a replacement? Not bad eh?

The former Roosters playmaker is still in decent nick, and complements the signing of Penrith utility Tyrone May and Canterbury Bulldogs front-rower Dylan Napa.

Napa in particular was a blockbuster in his Roosters days, forming a really aggressive pack with Jared Waerea Hargreaves.

Watch out Super League.

Image source, Getty Images

It's been a busy offseason for Saints, despite their third straight triumph, as the machinations of the salary cap prompted the club to do some shrewd business.

While Joel Thompson retired, and Kevin Naiqama went back to Australia; Theo Fages left for Huddersfield, James Bentley joined Leeds and full-back King Lachlan Coote moved to Hull KR.

Incoming business though is equally exciting: Manly back-row bulldozer Curtis Sironen, Canterbury Bulldogs utility back Will Hopoate, Parramatta hooker Joey Lussick and UK-based imports James Bell from Leigh and Leeds centre Konrad Hurrell all add to Kristian Woolf's options.

Image source, SWPIX.COM

Yep, the scrum is again a feature of rugby league in the northern hemisphere. Not entirely as they were, as now kicks to touch will result in handovers, but handling errors will again present teams with the set-piece.

It's been welcomed throughout the game, with coaches such as Warrington boss Daryl Powell, Hull KR's Tony Smith and Kristian Woolf from Saints all thumbs up for the move.

"It's a massive positive, it breaks the game up and looks a bit different," Powell told BBC Sport.

Woolf added: "It's opened up a lot of conversation, a lot of thought about different scenarios; how are you going to defend a scrum and how you are going to attack from different positions, what you can use with slight changes of the rules.

"It does give you a real attacking opportunity, it does give the opportunity for us to see some set-plays, tries or line-breaks to come off those.

"It challenges us more as coaches and players in how you're going to defend that."

Meanwhile Smith added: "It was good to see a different structure, I do miss the scrums. It's a shame we won't see many of them, the rules limit the amount of scrums we have, it's good way to start.

"Teams wouldn't kick it into touch as much [with scrums] as it's a dangerous situation to defend from, so you'd keep the ball in play."

We'll pick up the rest of the weekend's Super League fixtures and a bit of preview on each of the teams involved at half-time.

But for now, it's all about St Helens v Catalans.

Last year's champions versus last year's runners-up.

Big time.

Image source, SWPIX.COM

Paul Rowley has been given the task of restoring Salford to competitive shape after they fell away from contention under Richard Marshall last season.

While it was always going to be tough to replace Ian Watson, the club who had reached a Grand Final and Challenge Cup final in successive seasons endured a year of struggle instead.

Rowley has come in, as have the impressive signings of Brodie Croft and Tim Lafai; and yet the Red Devils are tipped to struggle by the oddsmakers.

"If you look down the list at the bookies odds, we're fighting for relegation," Rowley told BBC Sport.

"It's not rocket science, if you were going to put odds on 12 clubs you'd look at what each one spends and we find ourselves in that predicament and that lack of expectation because of the money we spend.

"We're happy with that, we're comfortable about it, go under the radar and hopefully under-promise/over-deliver."

Image source, SWPIX.COM

Head coach Lee Radford is pleased with the way Castleford Tigers have bonded going into his first season in charge.

Radford has brought players into Cas, new faces like Mahe Fonua, Jake Mamo and returning Joe Westerman.

He inherits stars such as Paul McShane, Adam Milner and Niall Evalds too, having succeeded Daryl Powell.

"They're a real solid hard-working group of people and there's no egos there," Radford told BBC Sport.

"The blokes we've brought in, we've got some characters there, and I was really intrigued to see how that chemistry was going to pan out but they've all bought in and are on the same page."