Proud Harrison ready to lift his Bulldogs in time for Eagles test

The former Halifax forward admitted his bunch of part-timers had been "outclassed" by their Super League opponents, Catalans Dragons, but could not fault his players' efforts.

Trailing 26-12, Catalans ran in eight unanswered tries in the final half hour to give the scoreline a flattering look for the French side, who have won just twice in the league this season.

Harrison said: "We're obviously bitterly disappointed with the eventual scoreline, but as for effort I thought we were outstanding. I can't fault the guys' effort, it was first class.

"We were starved of possession for long periods. For the final 25 minutes we kept giving penalties away which left us defending our try-line.

"And when you're defending against a team as big and strong as Catalans and against a team full of Australia and French internationals you're going to concede points.

"I thought we were on the wrong end of some poor refereeing decisions all night. That's what you get with Super League referees.

"At 26-12 we had been playing well and had them rattled, but then conceded another penalty on play five which gave them field position and they scored. Our heads didn't go down, but it certainly lifted theirs and they ran away with it from then.

"We were certainly in the game for long, long periods. Collectively we did okay, but we were outclassed in every department and there's no shame in that. The boys didn't lay down, played for the full 80 minutes, but we were just totally outplayed. The team played really well, but the scoreline doesn't reflect that."

After a hectic few weeks, Harrison now has to pick his troops up for another quarter-final contest.

"The players are bitterly disappointed, we have had a torrid three weeks – it's our fifth game in 18 days – which has taken its toll, but we have a few days off now before our next game against Sheffield in the quarter-finals of the Northern Rail Cup," he said. "I think the club has done a fantastic effort in trying to promote the game and people came out to support us. It was a shame about the weather, but it was a good crowd and I am glad the club have earned a few quid."

The Dragons now go into Wednesday's semi-final draw and the chance to present departing coach Kevin Walters with some silverware before the end of a disappointing season.

"It hasn't been a season of joy for us, but today was a good result for us in many ways," said Walters. "I'm particularly happy for the players, we're into a semi-final now – regardless of who we play – that's a great achievement.

"It's a good thing to be able to salvage something in what's been a pretty savage season for us. We said at half-time that we needed to keep going and that's been one of our problems this year. It's been a long time since we won two halves in a row and today we did that albeit against a team from outside Super League.

"But it doesn't matter who you're playing so long as you apply yourself and win the game – and we did. To tell you the truth, I was pretty nervous before the game. In that second half when we got to play down the hill it was pretty tough going for them.

"We played pretty well and the scoreboard showed that."