Catalan Dragons survive London Broncos fightback - BBC News
Catalan fought off a spirited second-half comeback by London Broncos to move up to third in Super League.
First half scores from Lopini Paea, Leon Pryce (two) and Remi Casty, all converted by Scott Dureau, gave the French side a 24-0 half-time lead.
London came back after the interval and Antonio Kaufusi, Ben Bolger and Chad Randall crossed to give them hope.
But it was not to be for Broncos as Casty, Steve Menzies and Jamal Fakir all went over to secure victory.
London Broncos' Shane Rodney spills the ball
Broncos were looking for just their third Super League victory of the season and their first since hammering Wakefield 36-0 in March.
Despite being the first game on in the second day of the Magic Weekend programme, the match was attended by an encouragingly-sized crowd in the Etihad, as many fans arrived early to enjoy the excellent conditions.
The Perpignan side had run in seven tries in a comprehensive 36-18 victory in London last month but had to weather early pressure from the strugglers before taking the lead when Paea crashed over from close in following Dureau's neat hand off.
Before Broncos had a chance to recover they were further behind, Pryce waltzing past a static defence after Catalans had regained possession from a London error.
The two sides were separated by 16 points at kick off and it was becoming increasingly apparent why, prop Casty barging in after poor defence from an up and under by Pryce.
Pryce effectively put the game beyond Rob Powell's side after he finished between the posts following Steve Menzies' quick hands on Dureau's kick into space.
With the first attack of the second period, Kaufusi got London on the scoreboard, going over from close in from Chad Randall's pass.
Ian Henderson tackles London's Chris Melling
The arrears were further reduced soon after thanks to Bolger's score from Mark Bryant's good hands under pressure.
Improbably, Randall then dived over from dummy half, after Catalans had forward Jason Baitieri sin-binned for a late challenge on Craig Gower, and Shane Rodney kicked his third conversion to reduce the deficit to 24-18.
Powell's side, winless since the Challenge Cup victory over Batley on 29 April, were in the ascendency but, before they could mount a further attack to level the match, Casty powerfully forced his way across from the 10 to give Trent Robinson's side much needed breathing space once more.
That score changed the complexion of the game and veteran Menzies finished off despite being under heavy pressure from two Broncos players as the French side ran in their sixth try.
With the Broncos looking deflated it was Fakir who grabbed perhaps the best try of the day to round off the win, diving over after an incisive attack cut through the London backline.
Catalans' victory means they close the gap on current leaders Warrington to just one point, having played one game less.
VIEWS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Catalan Dragons coach Trent Robinson said:
"We defended well in the first half but we lost a bit of that in the second and that was disappointing.
"I thought that Jason Baitieri hit Gower late but I think it's a poor rule that it's an automatic sin bin. It was silly but not dangerous.
"Jamal Fakir has been in good form all season and it looks like a groin injury. How bad it is, I don't know.
"Our front row group were outstanding. I thought Scott Dureau and Leon Pryce played well but I always judge them slightly harder because of their ability."
London Broncos coach Rob Powell said:
"At 24-18 I really thought we had the chance to go on and win the game.
"It was disappointing to get caught out the way we did when we'd come back so well.
"At half-time we talked about pride and fighting back. We know Catalans are capable of putting 60 or 70 points up.
"We just need to keep working hard and keep believing in what we're trying to achieve here."
SUNDAY'S LINE-UPS
Catalan Dragons: Greenshields, Bosc, Duport, Pala, Stacul, Pryce, Dureau, Paea, Fisher, Casty, Menzies, Anderson, Baitieri.
Replacements: Raguin, Henderson, Simon, Fakir.
London Broncos: Robertson, Dixon, Caro, O'Callaghan, Channing, Sarginson, Gower, Kaufusi, Witt, Wheeldon, Rodney, Melling, Clubb.
Replacements: Randall, Lovell, Bryant, B. Bolger.
Referee: James Child (Dewsbury)
Catalan 42 London 18: Dragons boost title chances after try blitz against Broncos - Daily Mail
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Title-chasing Catalan made perfect use of the home-from-home conditions at their disposal in Manchester as they ran in seven tries to see off London and cement their top-four spot.
The Perpignan-based club are no strangers to playing in red-hot sunshine and temperatures at the Etihad were distinctly Mediterranean as day two of the Magic Weekend got under way.
Trent Robinson's men had looked set for a runway victory at one stage - they led 24-0 at half-time - but were eventually made to work harder than that as London came back to within six points at one stage.
Over: Catalan Dragons Jamal Fakir scores the seventh try against London Irish
It was an admirable effort from a Broncos side currently the subject of a performance review from the club's directors.
Coach Rob Powell and his squad have struggled to make an impact so far this season, despite an influx of promising-looking Australian signings being added to an impressive pool of young talent, and understandably, all eyes were on them.
They did their best to get off to a good start, with Omari Caro denied an early try when Michael Robertson knocked-on in the build-up.
That was a half-chance, though, and nothing like the opportunity wasted by Antonio Kaufusi with seven minutes on the clock. The prop was ideally placed when Craig Gower's kick ricocheted up under the posts but, despite being a yard out, Kaufusi could still not gather the ball.
The Catalan side seemed to be doing their best to give London a leg-up, with Ben Fisher and Lopini Paea both making basic errors, neither of which were capitalised on.
And then, as if to highlight London's current fortunes, Catalan scored with their first genuine attack. Jamie O'Callaghan's ball steal gave them a penalty and Scott Dureau's reverse pass gave Paea a walk-in to the line.
A pattern quickly formed, with another London error, this time a Michael Channing knock-on, leading to Dureau sending Leon Pryce through with 14 minutes on the clock.
London were not helping themselves and, unlike the Catalans, when they made errors, they were not getting away with them. Dan Sarginson and
Craig Gower gave away penalties, as did Scott Wheeldon, with that trio of mistakes eventually leading to another try.
Sarginson went up to gather a Pryce kick but only shelled it, allowing Clint Greenshields to expertly pat the loose ball into the hands of the waiting Remi Casty who ploughed over.
London prospect Kieran Dixon then thought he had pulled a try back, only for video referee Ian Smith to find a fault in his grounding after he beat Cyrille Stacul to a Gower kick. Their misery was then compounded when Dureau's chip fell kindly for Steve Menzies who sent Pryce away for a second three minutes before the break.
With a 24-0 half-time deficit, London could have been forgiven for expecting to be on the end of a beating similar to the one handed to Widnes by Warrington yesterday but, to their credit, they started the second half well, with Kaufusi doing what he failed to do in the early stages and scoring from close in.
That was in the 42nd minute and four later, Ben Bolger put on a similar play from a Mark Bryant offload and with Shane Rodney kicking his second goal, the gap between the two was only 12 points.
It seemed as though Catalan were still in the dressing rooms and Jason Baitieri actually was when he was given a 55th-minute sin-binning for a late hit on Gower. It took London less than 60 seconds to cash in too, with Chad Randall diving in from dummy half.
A pressure-relieving penalty and a London error helped Catalan stabilise, though, and when Casty used his size to get over for a second with 17 minutes left, they had some breathing space again.
Any panic was over when Menzies touched down with 10 minutes left, before Jamal Fakir wrapped things up following a wonderful flowing move that went through Menzies before Fisher teed-up the forward.
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"Through our regeneration drive we have already started reversing the decay of our high streets that had been allowed set in through long-term underinvestment.
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