Dragons get off the mark

Catalan Dragons secured their first win of the new Engage Super League season as a dominant second-half display saw them beat Hull KR 31-18.

The two sides had gone into the half-time break at New Craven Park with the scores tied at 12-12, but the visitors ran in four tries to race away after the break.

Rovers made the brighter start at the beginning of the contest and were rewarded when Blake Green grabbed the opening try in the eighth minute, with Craig Hall converting.

The Dragons responded by closing to within 10 metres of the hosts' try line, but a mistake from Daryl Millard allowed Green to take the ball 90 metres and score at the other end.

Catalan then forced back-to-back goal-line drop-outs, with Gregory Mounis running free from the second to cross the whitewash, while Scott Dureau added the extras to make it 12-6.

Dragons had twice as many errors as points coming into the contest and it was clear early on the mistakes had not been eliminated.

Penalties

The Robins were not able to capitalise on them, however, as they gave the ball up in good position several times and also conceded untimely penalties.

A prime example was when Green vented his frustration at referee James Child 10 metres from the Dragons line when on the first tackle, halting a promising move.

A try may have killed the game off before the break but instead it was all-square at half-time as Setaimata Sa crossed the try-line in the 38th minute.

Four minutes after the interval, the Dragons took a lead for the first time all season as Damien Blanch danced past full-back Shaun Briscoe on the wing to score in the corner.

Rovers hit back as Green sent Briscoe over for his second try of the season after a well-worked move. Hall's conversion edged Rovers into an 18-16 lead.

But the visitors adjusted well to the windy conditions in the second half, cutting down on their errors and grabbing another try after a sustained period of pressure.

Miss

Sebastien Raguin touched down to make it 20-18, although Dureau missed his second kick of the game.

The lead was stretched with 13 minutes left as Steve Menzies did brilliantly to ground Dureau's kick just as it hit the turf.

Dureau was again off target with the conversion attempt, though, meaning Rovers kept within a converted try of drawing level.

The best chance they had of getting it came in the 71st minute when Kris Welham was tackled into touch as he went for the line.

And Catalan effectively sealed the win when Blanch grabbed his second try with five minutes remaining and Dureau this time added the kick.

The Australian half-back then sent over a late drop-goal to complete the scoring.