Duo of English recruits absent from Catalans Dragons squad to face Toulouse Olympique

Catalans Dragons head coach Steve McNamara has named a strong 24-man squad for his side’s pre-season clash with Toulouse, with four new signings included. 

Off-season recruits Nick Cotric, Luke Keary, Tevita Pangai and Oliver Partington will all make their maiden appearances for Les Dracs in the French derby, and look to be major parts of the new-look squad for the upcoming campaign.

Catalans Dragons name strong squad for pre-season clash

Whilst these four will all don the Catalans jersey for the first time, fellow new recruits Elliott Whitehead and Tommy Makinson miss out on the squad. Former St Helens man Makinson is ruled out through injury, with an official club statement saying he has not been risked for the game, meanwhile, former Canberra Raiders star Whitehead is still serving a suspension from the 2024 season.

Jordan Dezaria, Matthieu Laguerre, Tanguy Zenon and Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet also miss out due to injury.

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Elsewhere, McNamara has named a very strong squad for their opening pre-season clash, which includes the likes of Sam Tomkins, Arthur Romano, Arthur Mourgue, Tariq Sims and Benjamin Garcia.

This will also be the first time the new spine will be tried out together in their new positions. Skipper Garcia will likely start at hooker, with former Salford man Partington expected to start at loose forward too. The new half-back combination of Keary and Mourgue will also get its first taste of action too.

Rounding off the extended squad, reserves players Leo Darrelatour and Timeo Portier are also named.

Catalans Dragons squad to face Toulouse in full

1 Sam Tomkins, 3 Arthur Romano, 4 Reimis Smith, 5 Nick Cotric, 6 Luke Keary, 7 Arthur Mourgue, 8 Tevita Pangai, 9 Benjamin Garcia, 10 Julian Bousquet, 11 Tariq Sims, 13 Oliver Partington, 14 Alrix da Costa, 15 Chris Satae, 16 Romain Navarrete, 17 Bayley Sironen, 18 Cesar Rouge, 19 Paul Seguier, 21 Theo Fages, 22 Fouad Yaha, 24 Franck Maria, 27 Yacine Ben Abdeslem, 28 Clement Martin, Leo Darrelatour, Timeo Portier

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