Matty Smith targets more trophies for Catalans

New Catalans half-back Matty Smith says the club has had a taste of the winning feeling and he wants to add more trophies to the cabinet during his time there.

Smith, 31, makes the move to France following a difficult stint at St Helens where he was frozen out of the first team.

In his first press conference as a Dragons player, he said: “As soon as I met Steve and the things he was saying about the club and the direction they were going in, the players that were already here and the players he was looking to sign I wanted to come.

“The club is going somewhere special and I see myself wanting to win trophies and I believe that Catalans and Steve can do that.

“They did it this year with the Challenge Cup and I feel like we can go one step further and be more successful.

“It’s all about winning for me and being at a club and wanting to win and having that kind of goal at the end of it

“When you win a trophy, you believe you can win again and good teams win cups, great teams need to do it again, and I think that’s what we’re hoping to do.

“It gives belief that you can do it, get on the big stage and perform well, and lift the trophy.”

The former Salford, Crusaders and Widnes half-back won Super League titles with Wigan in 2013 and 2016, as well as the 2013 Challenge Cup.

He was in the Super League Dream Team in 2013 and 2014, but after returning to Saints ahead of the 2017 campaign, he slipped behind youngster Danny Richardson in the pecking order at the Totally Wicked Stadium, and even played on dual-registration for Sheffield last season.

After their historic Challenge Cup win, Catalans have turned to three Englishmen to bolster their squad – signing Smith, his former Wigan and England team-mate Sam Tomkins and Widnes back-rower Matt Whitley.