Catalans Dragons 6-28 Leeds Rhinos: Croft grabs treble in Super League leaders’ victory

Betfred Super League

Catalans Dragons (0) 6

Try: Tison Goal: Sexton

Leeds Rhinos (16) 28

Tries: Newman, Croft 3, Miller Goals: Connor 4

Brodie Croft scored a hat-trick to help Super League pacesetters Leeds Rhinos restore their four-point lead at the summit with victory against a stubborn Catalans Dragons side in Perpignan.

Croft grabbed the first of his treble of tries in between efforts from Harry Newman and Lachlan Miller, which put Leeds 16-0 up at half-time.

The half-back went on to grab two more tries in 11 second-half minutes to ensure an ultimately comfortable victory in the south of France.

Ugo Tison did well to fend off one tackler and hold off two more defenders as he crashed over in the final seconds of the game to ensure Catalans avoided being held pointless at home.

Croft’s try-scoring exploits at the Stade Gilbert Brutus, which took his try-scoring tally for 20 for the season, came on a night when there was huge expectation on the free-scoring Maika Sivo, who had a Super League record in his sights.

A try against Dragons would have seen the Fijian equal the Super League record for tries scored in consecutive games, but he was starved of chances and had his scoring spree stopped at 10 matches.

More to follow.

Catalans Dragons: Staines, Cotric, Laguerre, Faataape, Darrelatour, Sexton, Dodd, Allen, Leeming, Maria, Rogers-Smith, Lipowicz, Bousquet.

Interchanges: Condon, Navarrete, Wilson, Tison, Martin.

Leeds Rhinos: Miller, Sivo, Handley, Newman, Lumb, Croft, Connor, Oledzki, Levi, Jenkins, Hankinson, McDonnell, Watkins.

Interchanges: Holroyd, O’Connor, C. Smith, Cassell, Nicholson-Watton.

Referee: Liam Moore.