The Catalans Dragons were looking for a victory to lift them above their visitors, Hull KR and to catapult them back into the all important top eight. It was a game with the promise of plenty of points as these two have form for scoring and conceding plenty of points against one another.

The home side were without the likes of Dureau, Anderson and Tonga but the Robins had their own injury problems and gave Australian Dane Tilse his debut.

Richard Silverwood was in the middle, and while we started the game in the dry there was the threat of heavy rain as we moved into early evening.

It was the home side who opened the scoring, with a little bit of help from Graeme Horne who dragged Baitieri onto the line when he appeared to have grounded short. Bosc was accurate with the kick.

Six minutes later and the visitors were level when Blair fended off three tackles to benefit from. dragons spilled ball. Mantellato goaled superbly from the touch line. And on nineteen it was the visitors who hit the front with a Mantellato penalty after the referee penalised the Dragons for interference.

It could have been even better for the Robins a couple of minutes later when Kelly intercepted and went fifty metres only to be tackled short of the line through a great effort from the chasing Escare who dislodged the ball from the KR scrum halves hands.

But it only delayed the score as on twenty-four the ball was worked right and Cockayne went over in the corner. Mantellato hit the upright with the conversion attempt, leaving KR just six points ahead, and the door ajar.

On the half-hour we were all square again when Gadwin Springer stretched to score one-handed on his first appearance of the season and when Bosc slotted over the extras we were 12-12 in an intriguing game of cat and mouse.

The final score of the half went for the home side as Whitehead made the ground and space to put Oldfield over on the corner. The conversion attempt was too wide for Bosc but his side went into the interval with a slender 16-12 lead in a game that was still anyone's.

It was the Dragons who stated the second half the brighter and with just over ninety seconds on the clock Springer and Garcia made good metres before Pelissier went from acting half-back to force the ball down. The Bosc goal gave us 22-12 and at last some daylight.

But KR weren't giving up their league position lightly and on forty-nine a Larroyer break found Kieran Dixon in support to run in under the sticks and make the Montellato conversion a formality.

On fifty-three the margin was back to ten points when Garcia showed some fine footwork to jink his way to the line when a Carney pass had hit Larroyer. Bosc made it 28-18 with the boot.

The game was finally put beyond doubt after sixty-eight when Elliot Whitehead scored in full flight off a clever Carney pass and despite Bosc missing the conversion it was 32-18.

With just three minutes left a Cockayne kick through was picked up by Dixon and flung wide for Montellato to score in the corner and despite him adding the goal it was too little, too late as the Dragons ran out as slightly less than convincing 32-24 winners.

It was an end to end game which was still in the balance right up until the last twelve minutes. The heavy rain in the second half increased the error count and the Dragons just managed to edge in front and hold on for the two points and a top eight spot.

Dragons: Escare, Oldfield, Cardace, Pala, Yaha, Carney, Bosc, Elima, Henderson, Casty, Taia, Whitehead, Baitieri. Subs: Garcia, Pelissier, Springer, Bosquet.

KR: Dixon, Mantellato, Sio, Blair, Cockayne, Kelly, Campese, Tilse, Boudebza, Walker, Horne, Larroyer, McCarthy. Subs: Burke, Green, Ollett, Esslemomt.

Referee: Richard Silverwood
Attendance: