New Super League format is fairest solution, says Catalans coach Steve McNamara

Catalans coach Steve McNamara says the decision to decide the Super League table by points percentage is the fairest solution.

The French club went top of the table as a result of the changes, having won five of their seven games so far – and have played three less games than their nearest rivals St Helens, Warrington and Wigan.

Warriors coach Adrian Lam expressed his frustration at the change, saying being rewarded for playing fewer games was hard to accept.

The Dragons have had their last two games – against Wigan and Leeds – postponed following a coronavirus outbreak, while they were already playing catch up with the fixture list having been forced to sit out a weekend due to St Helens’ World Club Challenge commitments.

McNamara said: “With the current situation, a system had to be put in place. It can’t be equal but it can be fair and this is the fairest solution.

“You can’t punish a team because it hasn’t been able to play as many fixtures as the others through no fault of their own.

“It wasn’t our fault we had the weekend off because of the World Club Challenge or that Storm Ciara hit us or that Leeds didn’t come to us before all of the initial breakdown.

“We will play as many games as we possibly can but, if we run out of time, a system is in place that is fair to everybody.”

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The Dragons will play their first game in France since beating Salford on March 7 when Wigan visit Perpignan on Saturday night.

It will also be the first Super League game played in front of spectators since Castleford beat St Helens on March 15.