Super League: Catalans Dragons 38-6 Hull FC - Dracs make it three wins from three
- Published
Catalans ran in six converted tries in Perpignan to hammer Tony Smith's Hull
Betfred Super League |
|---|
Catalans (14) 38 |
Tries: Johnstone, Seguier, Goudemand, Taukeiaho, Keighran, Garcia Goals: Keighran 7 |
Hull FC (0) 6 |
Try: Savelio Goal: Clifford |
Catalans Dragons kept up their 100% record this season as they comfortably disposed of Hull FC in Perpignan.
Catalans led 14-0 at the break after tries by winger Tom Johnstone, his fifth of the season, and Paul Seguier, both converted by Adam Keighran, who had also landed an early penalty.
They then added four more converted tries from Mickael Goudemand, Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Keighran and Ben Garcia.
Hull at least registered points with Andre Savelio's late consolation try.
Tony Smith's Black and Whites came into the game on the back of two straight wins themselves, but they ended up on the wrong end of a 32-point losing deficit, their worst in meetings with Catalans since the French side joined Super League in 2006.
Catalans lost scrum-half Cesar Rouge in only the fourth minute with an apparent knee injury - but it did not stop them going ahead two minutes later through Keighran's penalty as he launched what turned into a 18-point individual haul.
He then converted from the touchline after Johnstone had gone in at the left corner, before Seguier burst over from 10 metres out - and the Australian centre again added the extras.
From an illegal ball steal on Jordan Dezaria in the opening seconds of the second half, Catalans span the ball right for the first try of the second half from early replacement Goudemand.
Garcia then put Tonga international Taukeiaho through between the posts for a try on his debut in the 50th minute and Keighran added a try of his own after a powerful burst from Tiaki Chan.
Savelio's try, converted by Jake Clifford, was all that Hull could salvage from a long night in the south of France before Garcia wrapped up victory with a powerful burst to touch down between the posts with a minute left.
Catalans Dragons coach Steve McNamara:
"We won't get carried away with anything. It's far too early to draw any conclusions but I'm very proud of that performance. We were very good.
"The first two games, we had to find a way to win without being happy with our performance, but that was a lot more Dragon-like.
"We defended physically. We were more aggressive and positive than we did in the first two games and we put a lot of pressure on Hull.
"But it's only round three. Hull are a good side and it just didn't happen for them."
Hull coach Tony Smith:
"They were good from the start but they didn't have to be great. We were flat as a pancake and they just carried out their plan.
"They're very good, they know how to play when they get their noses in front and they play at speed once they get ahead.
"It's really hard to get a foothold in particularly when you're making as many errors as we did tonight with poor defensive reads and poor defensive contacts. Our hit and stick was way off tonight.
"We would have liked to have made a better fist of it, but you learn something every time you play. We didn't handle the game and the occasion right and we'll learn many lessons from it."
Catalans: Mourgue; Davies, Keighran, Romano, Johnstone; May, Rouge; Garcia, Seguier, McMeeken, Bousquet, McIlorum, Navarrete.
Interchanges: Goudemand, Chan, Taukeiaho, Dezaria.
Hull: Hoy; Swift, Sutcliffe, Scott, McIntosh; McNamara, Clifford; Evans, Dwyer, Satae, Griffin, Lane, Fash.
Interchanges: Brown, Lovodua, Sao, Savelio.
Referee: Marcus Griffiths