Leeds Rhinos suffered a disappointing 11-0 defeat to Catalans Dragons at the Stade Gilbert Brutus in round four of the Betfred Super League.

Both sides struggled with high error counts in a scrappy contest, but Dragons centre Reimis Smith proved the difference as he scored the game’s only tries in the second half.

The Rhinos welcomed Brodie Croft and Matt Frawley back to the starting lineup after the pair missed the Castleford win. Croft completed his concussion protocol to earn selection, whilst Frawley’s hand injury required an extra week to recover but was available from the off against the Dragons.

There was also a debut for Ethan Clark-Wood as the Australian came onto the wing in place of Ryan Hall, plus Jack Sinfield took Tom Holroyd’s place on the bench as the Leeds prop served the first of a two-match ban. Jarrod O’Connor was named amongst the substitutes for his 100^th Leeds appearance.

Leeds came into the contest having not scored in their last two visits to the Stade Gilbert Brutus, but they got the opportunity to apply early pressure on the Dragons try line. Brodie Croft stripped the ball from Nick Cotric, giving Leeds possession in the home side’s half, and a chance saw Jake Connor come close to latching onto a kick through, but the full-back couldn't secure the ball, missing a scoring opportunity.

Catalans responded by targeting Rhinos debutant Clark-Wood; Keary caressing the ball into the in-goal area where the Leeds man managed to get there before Reimis Smith. Back-to-back drop outs and more pressure with the home crowd behind them saw the Dragons continue to ask questions of the Rhinos defence, but Arthur’s side held strong to keep the score at 0-0.

The first half stalemate continued as poor skill and errors from both sides kept them scoreless. Both sides also went down to twelve players, starting with Romain Navarette, who was sent to the bench for ten minutes for a dangerous tackle on Andy Ackers. With the travelling fans sensing a scoring chance with the extra player, Leeds couldn’t capitalize as Jarrod O’Connor dropped the ball—one of eight first-half errors for the Rhinos.

Off the back of the error, the referee judged a tackle from Jake Connor to be reckless on Ben Garcia, so the Leeds man also sat out the remainder of the half.

A late flurry of scoring opportunities kept both the stadium crowd and viewers at home entertained. Leeds thought they had the lead when James McDonnell heaved a kick ahead and Matt Frawley came out of nowhere to finish a remarkable effort. Unfortunately, the video referee ruled out the try, deeming the half back offside.

The Dragons on the other hand seized their chance at the final hooter, with Keary slotting a drop goal to give his side a slender 1-0 lead at the break.

For all their defensive work in the first half, the second half got off to a tough start for the Rhinos as Chris Satae quickly exploited a hole in the Rhinos defence to break downfield. Riley Lumb, who was filling in for full back Connor, did well to bring the prop forward down and Leeds looked to have the situation under control, but a handling error from Newman saw Reimis Smith pounce for the first try of the contest.

Leeds’ tough evening continued as Frawley failed an HIA test, forcing Jack Sinfield into the action as the Rhinos tried to find a result.

Defensively, the away side’s resolve continued as Lumb fended off two chances down his side of the field as the Dragons looked to use Tommy Makinson. Meanwhile in attack, Newman had the chance to make up for his error in the build-up to the Dragon's try as he had Leeds’ best opportunity for points but he couldn’t promote the ball over the line.

As the game hit the final ten minutes, the Dragons locked up the result as Smith punished an error from Clark-Wood to touch down the loose ball. Mourgue missed the conversion, leaving the score at 11-0.

Tariq Sims had a late effort chalked off as the video referee had insufficient evidence to overturn the second rower’s score for a potential knock on, but the final scoreline of 11-0 saw the Dragons take home their first points of the new season.

Teams

Dragons

7. Arthur Mourgue, 2. Tommy Makinson, 23. Matthieu Laguerre, 4. Reimis Smith, 5. Nick Cotric, 6. Luke Keary, 21. Theo Fages, 8. Tevita Pangai Jr, 9. Ben Garcia, 10. Julian Bousquet, 11. Tariq Sims, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Oliver Partington

Subs: 14. Alrix Da Costa, 15. Chris Satae, 16. Romain Navarette, 19. Paul Seguier (18^th Man – 3. Arthur Romano)

Tries: Smith (42, 71)

Goals: Mourgue 1/2

Drop Goal: Keary (39)

Sin Bin: Navarette (28 – Professional Foul, Dangerous Tackle)

Rhinos

18. Jake Connor, 23. Riley Lumb, 4. Ash Handley (CC), 3. Harry Newman, 27. Ethan Clark-Wood, 6. Brodie Croft, 7. Matt Frawley, 8. Mikolaj Oledzki, 9. Andy Ackers, 10. Keenan Palasia, 16. Morgan Gannon, 12. James McDonnell, 11. James Bentley

Subs: 14. Jarrod O’Connor, 15. Sam Lisone, 17. Cooper Jenkins, 20. Jack Sinfield (18^th Man – 21. Alfie Edgell)

Sin Bin: Connor (36 – Professional Foul, Dangerous Tackle)

Download official team sheet by clicking here.