New league. Same player.
Dylan Napa had a rough Catalans debut on Friday morning (AEDT), sent off in his new side's match against St Helens.
In a rematch of last year’s Super League grand final, the former Sydney Roosters and Canterbury prop was shown a red card for a hit on St Helens centre Mark Percival.
The head-high tackle came with nine minutes remaining in the match, as the French-based side lost 28-8 at Totally Wicked Stadium.
He now faces an extended stint on the sidelines.
Napa was involved in a number of other penalties throughout the match, with tensions between the teams threatening to boil over.
Dylan Napa makes an immediate impact for the Dragons pic.twitter.com/mrGABQdcDT
— Phat Dan (@suthodan) February 10, 2022
Speaking after the match, Dragons coach Steve McNamara believes his new Australian recruit will learn from the incident.
“I thought he put himself about a lot,” McNamara said.
“Obviously his physical presence … he’s obviously been called for too high at the end there.
"That’s what he’s been dinged by and he’s paid the price for it - he’ll learn from it.
“I didn’t see it that closely there. I’m not sure.
"Initially I thought it hit the ball and bounced up off it ... I’ll have to have another look at it.”
The Australian prop arrived in France on a two-year deal with the Dragons during the off-season from the NRL.
Other former NRL players made their debut for the Dragons too, with halfback Mitchell Pearce described as "quiet" by McNamara, whilst Tyrone May played limited minutes after being poked in the eye.
