Catalans' Mike McMeeken ready for home tie | Betfred Challenge Cup Quarter-Finals

Catalans Dragons’ Mike McMeeken is hopeful of silverware this year, and this starts with the Betfred Challenge Cup.

The Dragons will play hosts to Huddersfield Giants on Saturday evening at Stade Gilbert Brutus – a fortress where they remain unbeaten in 2024.

The two sides are yet to meet this year and with both teams hungry for success, it promises to be an emphatic quarter-final showdown.

Joining the Dragons in 2021, McMeeken has quick become an established member and leader in the French side. He enjoyed a marvellous first year with Catalans clinching the League Leaders’ Shield in memorable fashion, before going on to play a part in the club's maiden Grand Final and scoring a try in the process.

But the silverware is still elusive where major finals are concerned, and the 29-year-old will be hoping his side can reiterate similar success of 2018, in which the Dragons made history and lifted their first ever Challenge Cup trophy.

McMeeken, a man who is happy to put his hand up and play wherever is needed, is yet to feature in a Challenge Cup Final. He has played in a number of quarter-finals over the years, including two in Catalans colours – falling short in back-to-back Challenge Cups to Warrington in 2021 and St Helens in 2022.

He also appeared in a semi-final with London Broncos as a youngster in 2013, and now midway through his playing career, McMeeken is eager to become a trophy winner.

Steve McNamara’s men, who currently occupy top spot of the Betfred Super League following their fearsome start to the new season, will be more determined than ever to have their presence in and around the sport’s finals and trophies.

The Dragons are a force to be reckoned with in 2024, and McMeeken insisted that any preparations for their quarter-final tie will remain the same as any other game, as he recognises the importance of a winning result on Saturday:

“We’re playing another Super League side, so our mentality stays the same. The only thing that switches is that it’s a different competition, and there’s different stakes up for grabs.

“We’re only 80 minutes away from a semi-final and it’s something that we’re really looking forward to. Having a home quarter-final here in France is also big for us. The Challenge Cup is a huge competition.

“I think for everyone involved, it’s something different – it takes us away from Super League for a week and it’s a different focus.”

Catalans come into this quarter-final clash on the back of a strong 4-40 win away against Championship side Halifax Panthers in Round 6, and McMeeken knows exactly what the Challenge Cup means to its participants:

“Being English, the competition is massive. But I also think in the past it’s shown how big the Challenge Cup is for the French as well.

“In 2018, Catalans were fortunate enough to win it, so hopefully we can build on that and go and get ourselves into more finals further down the line. But our main focus will be playing the 80 minutes this weekend.

Although McMeeken knows his side are more than capable, given their current form and string of strong performances, he has stressed that they won’t be taking their opposition lightly:

“We have the confidence that we can go out there and perform and win, but Huddersfield will have the same confidence as well. It’s an 80 minute knockout game and it’s all about whoever turns up on the day.

“Huddersfield have recruited really well in the past season or two. They also got a good coach in charge of them and a set of really good players. They’re going to be a tough task for us.”

On his side's own performances - despite sitting top of the table after seven rounds, with six wins out of a possible seven – McMeeken thinks there’s still plenty of room for improvement:

“As a team we’ve been building each week," McMeeken said, as he was full of praise for his team-mates. 

"But we haven’t been overly happy with our performances. I think we’ve been happy with them because we’ve been getting wins, but we’re also aware that there are areas we can improve on.

“It was very important to win against St Helens last weekend and it was important that we performed well against a top quality side at home once again, in front of our awesome crowd.

“We’ve got some good leaders in the in the team now and a lot of people that want to step up on the field as well. If they're not talking too much in the changing rooms, then they're leading on the field. We have a good balance in the squad.”

Taking each week as it comes, McMeeken has emphasised that as long as the Dragons are performing consistently, everything else will fall into place along the way:

“I think at this moment in time it doesn't matter who it's against, it’s just about performances and picking up the two points.

“We know all these two points add up to being where we want to be at the end of the year and that's in the semi-finals. We want to play at home here and then be in the big finals in at Old Trafford.

“But I think at this moment in time we need to take it week by week and that's why it's quite nice to get away from Super League this week and play in a new competition in Challenge Cup.

"And we want to win on Saturday."

Can Catalans claim a spot in the final four? Or will Huddersfield Giants become the first team of 2024 to emerge victorious over in the south of France?

A full Betfred Challenge Cup Quarter-Finals Preview can be found here.

The Men's 2024 Betfred Challenge Cup Final (KO 3pm) is part of a Finals Day triple-header at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 8 June, alongside the finals of the Betfred Women's Challenge Cup (KO 11.45am) and the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup (KO 5.45pm). Plus, there will be the traditional Year 7 Boys’ Champion Schools Final at 10am. Tickets are available online now from only £20 Adults and £10 Under 16s, with family packages also available.