Here's an interesting stat to set the scene for this one: up to the halfway point this season Hull KR had won six and drawn one of their games, Catalans had won eight and drawn one.

Those similar records soon came to an end though with Millennium Magic and since then, Mick Potter's men have been a revelation, while life has been far from easy for Rovers.

I just think they've hit the wall. It is tough because don't forget, without relegation, they are still building their squad and not that long ago, were two divisions below Super League.

Dragons: will be celebrating again

Justin Morgan has not been helped by injuries to key players and of course what is going on with Paul Cooke, who has again been left out for disciplinary reasons, is the last thing they need going into the final push.

Cooke is such a big player for them, it has created a real hoo-hah and they will need to make sure they are focused on the game come Friday night.

The loss of scrum-half James Webster, who has had his contract terminated, has been a big blow as well. They replaced him with Michael Dobson, who you might remember from his Wigan days and things haven't really gone too well for him at Craven Park.

Teams these days are more specific and indeed ruthless in exploiting individual weaknesses and Dobson's lack of speed in defence has been evident at times. That said, his last home game - against Wigan - saw him score four tries, so there is nothing wrong with his attacking sharpness!

But individual errors have been Hull KR's downfall in the second half of the season and there is not much Morgan can do about that. A massive 70 missed tackles in their last two games is far too high for any side.

Atmosphere

On top of that, they are Super League's lowest scorers and there is a lack of genuine speed and players capable of making that opening break.

Yet they have beaten St Helens, Bradford and Wigan on their own patch and I do love going to Craven Park for live games because there is such a cracking atmosphere. It is not the most welcoming place though, if you are a visiting player.

It will be interesting to see what Catalans do for this trip. They are not exactly blessed with bundles of money and although it is only a two-hour flight from Perpignan they did tend to look like they were feeling a little sorry for themselves when they turned up for away games.

Now though, even if they arrive on the morning of the game, they train. That means they are up to the physical task in hand and the fact that they have won seven of 10 games on the road this season compared to two in their first two years, shows what a difference the changes have made.

Much of that, and indeed their success this season, has to go down to coach Mick Potter. He is a smart guy and watch out for a tactic that although simple and fairly obvious, will test that Hull KR defensive line come Friday.

Sliding

Like I say, it is simple enough, but what Potter has got his side doing when they have the ball is running straight for the posts. When you're a kid you tend to run away from the tackles and end up going towards the corners and it is something we have seen happen in this country for a long, long time.

Catalans go straight for their man, which means the defensive side always have to be on their guard. That north-south approach works as well because what do sliding defences like? Sliding attacks of course!

And in Thomas Bosc they have one of the stars of Super League this season. He is the leading goal-kicker and an astute operator all-round and it will be interesting if Dobson can step up and match his opposite number.

If Hull KR are to get something, it might well be from kicks, because the one thing that might just let Catalans down from time to time is the number of penalties they give away. They are a hugely physical side but have given away the most penalties in Super League this season, in fact they welcome Adam Mogg back from suspension here.

The trouble is, they don't seem to mind! That might be because eventually the opposition have had their fill and get fed up with it.

Phil predicts

AWAY WIN - Catalans were unlucky to lose to Leeds last time out and they are a top-three side. When we get to the business end of the season, as Stevo likes to call it, top-three sides tend to win more than they lose. But it won't be easy because Hull KR will be smarting from that derby defeat and have had two weeks to prepare for this - and will want to banish the memories of that last defeat. But I just think Catalans will have a little too much quality for them to cope with.

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