Round 24
Les Catalans Dragons 18 d. Hull FC 6

2009 engage English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: United Kingdom > National > First Grade Competition: engage English Super League

Elima hat-trick inspires Catalans to victory over Hull FC
Sun August 16, 2009
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

Olivier Elima's hat-trick saw Catalans Dragons stake their claim for a play-off place as the French side moved into the top eight of the engage Super League.

Kevin Walters' side, who last year finished third, continued their resurgence with a comfortable 18-6 victory, a result which all but condemns Hull FC to a second successive year without play-off rugby to look forward to.

Elima's hat-trick was a rare highlight of a match which never failed to get going at Beziers' Stade de la Mediterranee. With the sticky conditions and the pressure of knowing a defeat could end their respective play-off hopes, the game was blighted by a series of errors.

Belying the recent form which had seen them win just one of their last six matches, it was Hull who silenced the customary passionate French crowd early with an early score.

Gareth Raynor - taking Mark Calderwood's right wing berth - continued his own personal impressive form with his fifth try of the season.

Raynor had only to touch down in the corner after good work by centre-partner Craig Hall, who despite being tackled by Jean Philippe Baile, somehow found an offload to gift Raynor a simple score.

Raynor's try should have been the precursor to Hull taking a stranglehold on the match as the visitors enjoyed the lion's share of both possession and territory.

Instead, Richard Agar's side demonstrated why they are 11th in the Super League table with a catalogue of errors wasting several opportunities to pull further ahead.

But if Hull were wasteful, Catalans coach Kevin Walters will have been livid with his side's wanton disrespect for the ball.

After weathering the early pressure of Hull the Dragons finally found their feet, helped in large part by the performance of Australian prop Jason Ryles.

The former St George Illawarra Dragons star used his considerable frame to push the visitors back. And with Casey McGuire and Adam Mogg taking advantage of their side's growing dominance, the hosts soon found themselves camped in the Hull half.

Try-saving tackles from stand-in full-back Richard Whiting and Hall would deny the Dragons an opening score, but ultimately it was their own failings in attack which left them scoreless heading into the break.

The Dragons finally began to put on a performance after the break and it did not take long before parity was restored on the scoreboard.

Mogg's clever kick through the Hull defensive line early in the tackle count caught everyone except Elima by surprise - and the second-row pounced to get a hand on the ball.

Going some way to making amends for so many missed chances in the first half, Elima's try settled the Dragons, who thanks to his support play on the shoulder of Jerome Guisset's break, soon found themselves six points to the good.

Hull struggled to get themselves back in the match as they failed to mount any serious pressure on a Catalans defence whose physicality was too much for their opponents to handle.

With no field position and precious little ball Hull never looked a threat, and it was left to the hosts to complete the scoring as Elima barged his way over with the final play of the match.


Airlie News: Hull FC v Catalans
Sat August 15, 2009
Source: www.hullfc.com

Hull FC welcome back four players for Saturday night's clash against Catalans Dragons in Beziers, finally providing head coach Richard Agar with some relief from this season's extensive injury problems.

Young star Tom Briscoe is pushing for a place on the wing after missing the last 3 months with an ankle injury, Ewan Dowes comes back into the reckoning following a calf tear and Richard Whiting should play some part after missing the last game against Huddersfield Giants due to illness.

The game comes too soon for the Airlie Birds major new signing Epalahame Lauaki, although Harlequins at the KC Stadium next week has been pencilled in for his long awaited debut, while Danny Washbrook also misses out, despite being fit again, as both he and his partner expect their first child any day now.

Nevertheless, international star Kirk Yeaman is back for the Black and Whites after struggling with a groin strain for the last few weeks and should finally get to make his 200th appearance for Hull.

Team-mates Paul King and Lee Radford are also set for major landmarks with Hull born King set for his 250th club appearance, while captain Radford should make his 300th career appearance including spells at Bradford, Hull and international honours.

However, the one headache for coach Agar will be who to select at stand-off with Richard Horne missing after tearing his latissimus dorsi against the Giants.

New recruit Jordan Tansey is a possibility, even though he has only played full-back since arriving at Hull, while Richard Whiting, Tommy Lee and Craig Hall could also get the nod.

Either way, Agar is thankful that he finally has some selection dilemmas.

"We are welcoming a few players back and that will help us and increase competition for places," he said.

"It means I can make changes on the back of a poor loss last time out, fresh legs can give a side a real impetus and with Dowes and Briscoe back it gives us some quality we have missed."

The Catalans welcome back captain Greg Bird following suspension as they look to continue their strong run of late which has seen them pick up five wins from seven matches.

Clint Greenshields also returns at full-back following a shoulder problem, however, Thomas Bosc and Jason Croker both miss out.

With both sides play-off hopes well and truly in the balance, Dragons coach Kevin Walters knows it is a must win game for his side.

"There is no room for error now. I think whoever loses this game will find their play-off hopes are not looking so good," he said.

"Hull is pretty determined to keep their dreams alive, as we are with ours."

Walters' opposite number Richard Agar agrees

"Obviously it is going to be tough as they are hitting a bit of form at the right end of the season and they want to make the play-offs as much as we do."

He added, "We have four games left and it is up to us to finish the season on a high, we need to win some games and whether that will be good enough to get us in the eight we'll have to wait and see."

"We are on outside bet and we would need results to go our way but I think what is important for us is that we finish well and strongly and the rest will take care of itself."

The weather in France will play a huge part in Saturday's game, with Hull already starting to acclimatise to the intense summer temperatures on the south-east coast of France.

Based in Perpignan, the traditional home of Catalans Dragons, Hull have been training since Thursday in temperatures consistently in the 90s (*F), while some forecasters are speculating it could reach highs of 100 (*F) during Saturday, although a late 9-15 kick off should benefit both sides.

Hull coach Agar knows the heat is just part of the French playing experience.

"Obviously it is very hot out here at this time of year but that is something we're very aware of," he said.

"The game is kicking off later so the temperature will have cooled off somewhat although we still expect it to be warm.

"But we have been over here before and played in some pretty warm conditions in the past. It is not something we're unaware of and obviously we're also working that into our preparations."

Recent history between the teams favours Hull, particularly on the continent. The Black and Whites haven't been beaten by the Catalans in France, with a record that now stands at three wins and a controversial draw in the four games played since the Dragons arrival in Super League.

"On previous visits to France we have done pretty well, we've won twice and drawn once and we'd like to keep that unbeaten record," Hull coach Agar said.

"We drew last season and I felt that was an excellent result especially as we lost Lee Radford and Paul King in the first nine minutes of the game and it meant a few players had to play a lot longer than we expected them to do."

Hull were also victorious in the first game of the season back in February when the sides met at the KC Stadium and Catalans became Hull's fourth scalp on the bounce during their impressive start to the 2009 season.

However, since then both sides have really struggled for consistent form and they find themselves battling it out just outside the play-offs with a handful of games to go. A win for the Dragons would put them in a much better position with them currently level on points with Warrington in 8th, while for Hull it is now simply a game of 'do or die' with a win needed to keep their slim play-off hopes alive.

The game itself is yet another of the Catalans on tour matches, with the fixture heading further north around the coastline to the town of Beziers. It means the match, to be played at the rugby union stadium- Stade de la Mediterranee, coincides with the annual summer 'Feria' festival which is held in the area.

It attracts over a million people to the festival weekend and it is hoped some of them will join a decent amount of travelling Hull supporters to watch the match.

The ground itself, which holds 18,000 people, is no stranger to rugby, having been used for previous rugby union World Cups and one rugby league fixture back in 1994 when Australia beat France 74-0, while the stadiums home team AS Beziers Rugby Union Club have 12 championship titles to their name.

SQUADS:
CATALANS DRAGONS: Baile, Bentley, Bird, Carlaw, Casty, Duport, Elima, Fakir, Ferriol, Gossard, Greenshields, Guisset, McGuire, Mogg, Mounis, Pelo, Raguin, Ryles, Stacul.

HULL: Berrigan, Briscoe, Burnett, Calderwood, Cordoba, Dowes, Hall, Houghton, Horne, King, Lee, Manu, Moa, Radford, Raynor, Tansey, Tickle, Whiting, Yeaman.

HEAD 2 HEAD:
Home: played 4, won 2, drawn 1, lost 1, for 82, against 64
Away: played 4, won 3, drawn 1, lost 0, for 120, against 90
Total: played 8, won 5, drawn 2, lost 1, for 202, against 154

LAST MEETING:
Fri 27th Feb- Hull 28- 12 Catalans - KC Stadium (12,482)

LAST MATCHES:
Fri 31st July, KC Stadium, 11,191
Hull FC (0) 0 - (12) 24 Huddersfield Giants

Fri 7th August, The Willows, Att: 3,475
Salford (12) 16 - (0) 18 Catalans Dragons

Thu August 13, 2009
• Hull FC trio set for landmark fixture
  

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