Two sides who are happy to forget poor 2024 seasons met in the opening round in the south of France as the Catalans Dragons sought a winning start to their campaign against the re-structured Hull FC who needed a much brighter 2025 to pacify their passionate supporters.

It was an almost unrecognisable Hull FC side, and the bookies had some belief that they may put on a good show in Perpignan as they only gave them a very respectful ten point start on the handicap coupon.

Both sides picked up wins last week in the Challenge Cup, the Dragons unconvincing in a 14-0 win over Halifax Panthers, FC getting a confidence boost in their 52-6 win over York Acorn.

It was now just a pride thing for both Hull FC and the Catalans Dragons as they brought down the final curtain on the 2024 regular season with a game which the Dragons needed to win by a margin of sixteen points to finish ahead of the Rhinos in seventh spot, while Hull FC needed to win, draw or lose by less that fifty-four points to avoid the ignominy of finishing at the bottom of the pile.

The Airlie Birds have been woeful in recent weeks and the likelihood was of them conceding another cricket score, but the Dragons form of late has also been poor and has seen them drop outside the top six, and out of the play-offs.

There was impossible scenario of a Dragons win by 182 or more points which would see them push St Helens out of the six on a superior points difference, but not even the 2024 Hull FC are that bad.

Thanks to this afternoons Salford Red Devils win over a hapless Hull FC, London Broncos came into tonight’s penultimate round fixture out of the bottom position in Super League for the first time this season, thanks to a slightly better points difference.

There could be no better motivation for a fourth win of the year but they were up against a Catalans Dragons side who needed the two points themselves to keep their slim hopes of a top six finish alive going into the last weekend of the season.

The Dragons were massive favourites with the bookies, the visitors seemingly without a hope.

Wigan needed a highly unlikely ninety-three-point victory over the Catalans Dragons to return to the top of the Super League table with three rounds of the competition remaining while the Dragons needed a win of any description to go ahead of the Leigh Leopards and St Helens to regain their place in the top six and the play-off places.

It was a 2023 Grand Final rematch with almost as much at stake and the bookies thought that it would be a third consecutive loss for the Dragons with Wigan handicapped by fourteen points on the coupon, Wigan tipped to draw level with Hull KR on points at the top of the table.

It was the tie of the round, fought out in the evening heat of the south of France.

By the yardstick of their recent seasons, the Catalans Dragons are having a stinker of a season as they sit in sixth place in the table looking anxiously at the sides below them including tonight’s hosts the Huddersfield Giants whose push for the top six is almost over but still mathematically viable.

The Giants were given the narrowest of starts on the handicap coupon with a two-point advantage over the side which incredibly lost to the London Broncos last time out, just the bottom sides second win of the season.

Huddersfield have only won one in their last five games and are now taking on the role of disruptor of other seasons rather than realistic hopefuls for the play-offs.

It’s fourteen years since a London side (the then Harlequins) beat the Catalans Dragons in the nation’s capital and the bookies believed that the losing streak would continue in 2024 as they handicapped the visitors by twenty-four points, expecting a one-sided game.

A win for the Dragons would put them up to fourth in the table, on points difference, but the London fans making their way into the Cherry Red Records Stadium hoped that this might be the second league victory of the season for their side who have shown marked improvement in recent weeks.

Surely this wouldn’t be the round that London got their second win.

Two sides who were on opposite ends of last weekend’s shock results came together for an intriguing round nineteen game as a Catalans Dragons side who lost to the Castleford Tigers faced a Hull FC side who sprang the surprise of the season in defeating champions elect, Wigan Warriors.

The big news was that Sam Tomkins was back out of retirement to alleviate the injury crisis in the south of France and provide a much-needed boost as the Dragons looked to secure a top six spot and a shot at the play offs.

The Dragons were firm favourites with the bookies and were handicapped by fourteen points on the coupon but in this round of shocks in Super League 2024, nothing could be taken for granted.

The final game of the round saw fifth placed Salford Red Devils make the long journey south to play the Catalans Giants who started the game in sixth pace but knew that a win would lift them above their opponents.

Salford had their eyes on getting to twenty-four points to lift them above St Helens and onto the same total as Hull KR and Warrington Wolves in second spot in the table, a loss for the Dragons would leave them anxiously looking over their shoulders at Leeds with a play-off place still at risk.

The bookies gave the Dragons a six-point handicap on the coupon making then slight favourites to pick up the points.

A middle of the table clash in the south of France saw a Huddersfield Giants side on the verge of losing touch with the play off places take on a Catalans Dragons side down on confidence and in danger of dropping out of the top six themselves after a recent poor run of form.

The bookies and pundits fancied a home win as they gave the Giants an eight-point start on the coupon but both sides came into the game on the back of painful defeats, the Giants to Hull KR and the Dragons at home to the Leigh Leopards.

One sides season would march forward on a victory, the other would continue a slump and a disappointing 2024 season.

Only two league points separated St Helens and the Catalans Dragons coming into tonight’s clash at the Totally Wicked Stadium with the visitors knowing that a win would lift them level on points with the league leaders, and an improbably large win, by sixty-one points or more, would see them to the top of table on points difference.

Saints were given a ten-point handicap on the coupon which lent some credibility to a bounce back Dragons win after their home defeat at the hands of the Warrington Wolves last weekend.

The league leaders were without the inspirational Jonny Lomax who is out with a hand injury and who was replaced by Moses Mbye at stand-off allowing new stand in skipper Jack Welsby to remain at full back.

The Rhinos filled their boots last week against the London Broncos but round eleven saw them with a daunting trip to the south of France to take on a Catalans Dragons side who were looking for the win to rejoin a cluster of clubs at the top of the table on sixteen league points.

A win for Leeds would lift them into the top six, but a big win could see them go ahead of the Dragons and as high as fourth in the table, but the bookies were favouring a home win, giving the visitors a fourteen-point start on the coupon.

Could the Rhinos make it three wins on the trot to find some sort of consistency or would it be the Dragons who would take their second win in their last five outings after a disappointing couple of rounds.

The top of the table beckoned for the Catalans Dragons as they travelled to Leigh to take on a Leopard side who are still looking for their second win of the season as they try to pull away from the sides at the bottom of the table.

Despite the chasm between the two sides on the league table the bookies were struggling to find a favourite but plumped for the visitors but only by handicapping them two points on the coupon, perhaps the premise being that Leigh must gain a win at some point after many close losses.

Leigh are still six points adrift of eighth place Leeds Rhinos but the Dragons knew that a win would lift them to the top of the pile entering round ten next weekend.

Both the Catalans Dragons and Hull Kingston Rovers could finish round eight at the top of the league as they met in the south of France for arguably the tie of the round, the Dragons needing just a win to go two points clear at the top, KR needing to win by a forty-point margin to jump four places.

The bookies favoured a home win, handicapping the Dragons by six points on the coupon, but the Robins are it making up the numbers in 2024 and were looking to take the two points to lift themselves level on league points with the four sides ahead of them.

The atmosphere was electric as the two sides took to the field.

Rivals round threw together two rivals whose rivalry wasn’t based on geography as the Warrington Wolves took on the Catalans Dragons at the Halliwell-Jones Stadium in a top of the table battle which would see the winner draw level with St Helens in top spot.

The Dragons won the encounter between the two sides in the south of France on the opening weekend, but the Wolves are starting to find some form in recent weeks.

The Wolves were slight favourites with the bookies for the win and had been handicapped by four points on the coupon but there really was very little to choose between the two sides as the neutrals settled down to watch a close game between two competitive sides with Grand Final aspirations.

It was a round one baptism of fire for Sam Burgess’s Warrington Wolves as they hopped on the place to Perpignan for a Saturday evening encounter with the Catalans Dragons who went into battle for the first time in the post-Tomkins era.

There is no denying that Burgess was a giant of the game as a player, having battled for ten years at the top of the Australian game, but fans of Warrington and neutrals alike were wondering how his no-nonsense playing style would translate into his coaching ethos.

Pre-match the bookies were struggling to pick a side and gave the visitors just a four-point start on the coupon as it promised to be a great season opening battle in front of the partisan Dragons crowd in the South of France.

The 2024 Season is upon us so please see the story below for full details and links on the new and old offerings from us at CST.

For those wanting to travel to see the Catalans, or an International RL tour or entering your kids into our DRAGONS CHALLENGE for 2025.

There is something for everyone so please take a look and we look forward to seeing you during 2024.

The bookies had made the Catalans Dragons slight favourites ahead of tonight’s final eliminator against a Saints side looking for their fifth consecutive Old Trafford appearance and potentially a fifth consecutive Grand Final win.

The two sides last met in July at the Totally Wicked Stadium when the Dragons secured a 14-12 win with the season’s previous meeting at the Stade Gilbert Brutus at the beginning of May also witnessing a Dragons win, by 24-12 on that occasion.

Steve McNamara’s side have had a week off to prepare for their big game, and once which they will have been building towards for the last month, while Saints had a tough run out last weekend in the opening round of the playoffs when they beat Warrington Wolves by 16-8.

The tie of the Rivals round saw top side Warrington Wolves travel to the Catalans Dragons and enter the cauldron of the Stade Gilbert Brutus looking to maintain their perfect start to the season against a side who were looking to draw level on league points with their opponents.

The bookies and pundits fancied a Warrington win but with the Dragons only having been given a six-point start on the handicap coupon they were not convinced of their own odds setting.

A Dragons win would lift them level on points with the Wolves and a win by forty-one points or more would see them end the Easter weekend at the top of the pile, but a loss would see their opponents opening up a four-point gap at the top of the table at the quarter point of the season.

Hull KR had this week’s trip to France to take on a high-flying Catalans Dragons who were seeking a win by twenty-three or more points to go above the Warrington Wolves to the top of the table and to maintain their one-hundred-percent start to the season.

The Robins and their fans made the journey knowing that if they could enter the cauldron of the Stade Gilbert Brutus and emerge with the precious points then they would be up to fourth place in the table after the opening five rounds of the competition.

The Dragons were made the bookies favourites with home advantage but with KR having just a twelve point start on the handicap coupon there was some certainty that this would be a competitive game with the visitors having a chance of springing a surprise.

The game of the round saw third placed Hull FC travel to the south of France for an early Friday evening kick-off against the Catalans Dragons with both sides eyeing the top of the table but needing to record big points victories to achieve it.

The Dragons needed a thirty-seven point victory to overtake Warrington on points difference while the ask was an unlikely fifty-three point plus win.

A win for either side would lift them into second spot, at least until Hull KR took on the Leigh Leopards in an eight o´clock kick-off.

The home side were slight favourites for the win, but FC had only been given a four-point start on the handicap coupon.