DRAGONS OVERCOME ROBINS
STEVE BRADY
CATALANS DRAGONS 18
HULL KINGSTON ROVERS 10
► Stade Gilbert Brutus, Friday
Sam Tomkins tries to escape from Jimmy Keinhorst
CATALANS DRAGONS continue to shadow league leaders St Helens with their fifth win from six games but they were pushed all the way by a resilient and robust Hull Kingston Rovers.
This game was in the balance until the final ten minutes when a Sam Tomkins penalty goal sealed victory for Les Dracs, who came out breathing fire but finished the match breathing a sigh of relief.
A sixth-minute withdrawal of centre Dean Whare with an apparent pectoral muscle injury seemed to unsettle the Dragons, who never got into full-flight throughout the entire game.
This was largely due to a ferocious and energetic performance by Rovers, who could have taken the spoils themselves if they had been cleverer and more clinical at crucial points.
Coach Tony Smith admitted as much after the match, saying, “It’s not often you see the better team lose in Super League but we weren’t far off that tonight.