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Catalans: on-field success

There was concern and criticism when the Catalans Dragons were given a place in Super League at the expense of say Widnes, Castleford or Salford. It is still a little early to say whether it's been successful yet, but their on-field progress has been impressive.

Phil Clarke
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As every week passes, we become closer to the date when the RFL will announce the successful applicants for a Super League licence in 2009.

If you've been watching Boots 'n' All you will have seen Angela Powers' reports on the clubs that she's visited and the strengths and weaknesses of their applications.

The century-long debate about the expansion of the game out of its so-called heartlands continues to rage.

What do we gain by allowing new teams into the competition?

What are the risks involved?

What do they need to do to be competitive within the first three years?

Most of the answers to those questions and the many others that I've neglected could be found in the South of France.

There was concern and criticism when the Catalans Dragons were given a place in Super League at the expense of say Widnes, Castleford or Salford. It is still a little early to say whether it's been successful yet, but their on-field progress has been impressive.

They made it to the Carnegie Challenge Cup final last season and currently sit third in the table approaching the halfway stage. With successive away wins at Huddersfield and Wigan it looks as though they've arrived as a competitive force.

It would take a far greater investigation into their finances, facilities and development programmes to give an accurate picture of the club, but there are some positive indicators.

Critics may say that they are too reliant on their overseas players. Their tries at Wigan were scored by Clint Greenshields, Justin Murphy, Dane Carlaw and Jerome Guisset.

Questions

You could say that all four are Australian, the first three definitely so. They also have one of the best coaches in the competition that again was imported from Australia a few years ago.

Nevertheless there is a feeling that French rugby league is starting to grow after a decade of decline.

One of the most difficult questions that the RFL faces concerns another French team. We are led to believe that an application for a Super League licence in 2009 has been submitted by Toulouse.

I have not seen the application but know that as the fourth largest city in France and the home of the aviation giant Airbus there is lots of money in the region.

It is also the home of a successful rugby union team, which I often watch on Sky Sports in the Heineken Cup, who are rumoured to be the richest rugby club in the world.

Nobody can be certain of the future. Competition for places is a good thing, whether you're talking about a place in the team or a licence for the league.

I just wonder whether we need to do all we can to support the French for the next few years to give them a chance. The Heineken Cup is huge now and we need to see if we can learn from it.

Now to this week's questions...

REFEREES ON THE RISE
Hi Phil, A quick question for you... the RFL is keen to promote homegrown talent in a bid to help Great Britain's competitiveness and to get more youngsters involved nationally. Should they also be looking to do the same for referees? On Friday night, for the second time in two years an Australian referee played a large part in deciding who would win a match. Two very questionable decisions were made in succession to give Catalans victory at the JJB. Surely this is unacceptable? Considering this is not the first time that this has happened, shouldn't the RFL be looking to promote another British referee up from NL1 to replace him? Regards, Matt
PHIL SAYS: The recruitment of match officials is a vital part of the growth and development of rugby league in this country. Your question focuses on the highest level of Domestic competition, but it is first worth considering the need for referees at junior, amateur and student level. I often think that some of the people on the sidelines at junior and amateur games that I have witnessed, need to go to their doctors.

Why would any sane or reasonable person verbally abuse a man who is giving up his time for free to officiate a match? What do they honestly think that they are achieving by criticising a referee to the point that he stops doing it? I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents/grandparents/guardians etc of the need to show some respect to the referee, even if he gets it completely wrong.

If we look at the specifics of your question though Matt, I would like to disagree. After watching the match very carefully on DVD (with the advantage of being able to pause, rewind and move forward frame by frame) I cannot agree with you. I do not think that the referee gave a victory to the Catalans. Firstly, the Dragons have lost two games this year in the last minute of the match, and have used that experience to make themselves tougher in the closing stages of games, both when they're in front and when they're behind. We should recognise their improvement as a team in Super League, who like Wigan at Huddersfield, were able to score twice in the last five minutes.

I can only guess which decisions that you were referring to and imagine that one was for the last try. Some Wigan fans claim that Calderwood was taken out in the air. In slow-motion that does not seem to be the case. Both Catalans players appear to be in the air attempting to either catch or tap back the ball. Both Croker and Pelo have their eyes on the ball, not on Calderwood.

In the lead-up to Guisset's try, Catalans were awarded a penalty for what appeared to be offside. I don't think that you could claim this gifted a win to the Dragons. The penalty count ended up with Wigan penalised eight times and Catalan nine. There was one incident mid-way through the second half when a Wigan player was dragged over the sideline. However, we'll look at this on Boots 'n All this week and see that the referee was again correct.

Some people have said that I am still a Wigan fan in the commentary box. Perhaps my answer here will demonstrate that I attempt to provide fair, honest and accurate analysis.

DRAFT ON TAP
Hi Phil, in view of all the injuries to players at the moment and the impact this is having on clubs may I ask what you think of creating an open register of fringe players and reserve grade players from all clubs that could be utilised by the rugby league for the benefit of the clubs for quick cover of injured players, I say administered by the league to stop one club picking the cream of the fringe talent, a bit like the draft system in American football. This should lessen the impact of the serious nature and long term effects of injury to the clubs competitiveness and prevent a lot of fans getting on the back of the coaching staff and club officials, I think this would help relieve the anxiety that the fans build up and the rugby league should make allowances on the salary cap to help cover the expenses, this would also enable these player to gain invaluable experience of first team rugby and help bring the young talent through I look forward to your views. Brian Wildbore
PHIL SAYS: It's a very interesting idea Brian, but a bit too radical for me. Before we start to change the rules, alter the Salary Cap etc. I think that we need to know a bit more about the injuries that are taking place. Are they sustained in training or in matches? Do they occur at the point of contact or just when running freely (e.g. Luke George at Wakefield/Chris Bridge at St Helens for Warrington)?

What point in the match do they happen? Are they more common in forwards or backs? Are you more likely to be injured if you're under 23 or over 23 years old? These are just some of the questions that the game needs to look into with a detailed injury audit.

All of the Super League clubs have full-time squads with approximately 25 players. In addition they have 30 more players contracted to the club in their second and third teams. After 11 Rounds of Super League the only team that has selected more than 25 players in their games so far is Hull FC. I appreciate that a club could get their injuries in one position and need to look at short-term recruitment, but I believe that each club takes into account the likelihood of injury and plan accordingly.

Dialogue exists between the clubs and I remember Leeds helping Harlequins in the past when they needed additional players. I don't think that we need a central clearing house for surplus players.

We are also seeing another effect that the Salary Cap has on the clubs. It forces them to invest in rehabilitation and provide the best possible medical care. They need their players available for selection and they need the younger ones who come in to be ready for action at a week's notice.

Got a question for Phil? Either send it via the feedback form at the bottom of the page or send it in HERE or to skysports.club@bskyb.com.