Dragons hold their fire on appointment of new coach

The new club have been without a head coach since the departure of Steve Deakin before Christmas and had been expected to make a decision at a board meeting this week.

"We presented all the options, but the president and the two vice-presidents want to see the first match before making any decision," said the Dragons' chief executive, Grant Mayer, who, along with the club's director of rugby, David Waite, interviewed five candidates last week.

Mayer would not confirm or deny that Mick Potter, the former Bradford assistant coach, is the front-runner for the position.

The Catalans have left out their one specialist hooker, David Berthazane, for the Wigan game. "He is disappointed, but there will be plenty of opportunities over the course of the season," Mayer said. Julien Rinaldi, usually a half-back, is expected to be the hooker on Saturday, when Mayer is confident of a crowd of between 8,000 and 10,000.

The former Leeds and Great Britain prop, Barrie McDermott, is confident he can juggle his coaching duties with Leeds Academy with playing again for Widnes.

McDermott has been talked out of retirement to help the Vikings regain their Super League status. "I have spoken to their coach, Steve McCormack," he said. "He wants to have a very big bench this season, so there's a role for me there."

McDermott is unavailable this Sunday, but hopes to stake a claim for a place the following weekend.