Whitehead ready to knock out former club

In-form back-rower Elliott Whitehead is hoping to see off former club Bradford and continue Catalan’s recent revival at the weekend.

After a difficult start to the season, the Dragons have won their last four games, including a win over London Broncos in the fourth round of the Challenge Cup.

They travel to the Provident Stadium to face Bradford in the fifth round on Sunday, knowing that a win will put them within two games of a return to the final.

The Dragons were the first French team to reach the final back in 2007, where they lost to St Helens.

Whitehead said: “It will be good to go back to Bradford. It is going to be a tough game and we are really going to have to put in a good performance to get through to the next round.

“Bradford have quality throughout their team. Matt Diskin has had vast experience in the Challenge Cup with Leeds and Luke Gale has a fantastic kicking game but anyone in that team is more than capable of posing an equally huge threat.

“We cannot afford to not play well and let them have the ball too easily, they have had a difficult start to the season but so have we and so we cannot take them too lightly.

“We have not had the best start to the season but a win had to come eventually and it did against Huddersfield.

“We have a great opportunity during the Challenge Cup to keep up those good performances and push on in the season and this competition.

“It would mean a lot to the team and to the community of the Perpignan region for us to get through to the next round and, who knows, perhaps get to Wembley. But we have to beat Bradford first and that is where our focus lies.”