Catalans Dragons continued their Super League slump as their preparations for next weekend's Challenge Cup semi-final against Wigan were severely dented.

But Hull boosted their top six play-off hopes with their third successive victory.

Catalans went ahead in the sixth minute when Hull were caught offside and after Gregory Mounis had been held short, they opened a gap for Adam Mogg to score, but Thomas Bosc failed with the conversion attempt.

Hull hit back strongly and were denied a try on video evidence after Willie Manu swept over from a Thomas Lee kick.

Motu Tony bravely dropped on the ball when it rebounded from a post from a Stacey Jones' kick through and the Hull full-back then initiated a 16th-minute try to give them the lead.

After a 40-metre break, Tony fed Matt Sing and he opened up a gap for Kirk Yeoman who drew the defence before feeding Danny Tickle, who scored and then turned the effort into a six-pointer.

Two minutes later, Hull moved into an eight-point lead when Lee broke clear to crash over and Tickle was again spot-on with the conversion.

However, the French side's pressure told in the 26th minute when Stacey Jones again hit the root of an upright with a chip kick and it angled away for Luke Quigley to touch down.

The try was allowed on video evidence and Bosc reduced Catalans' deficit to only two points.

But Hull extended their lead on the half-hour mark when Younes Khattabi failed to defuse a Thomas Lee kick and Gareth Raynor picked up the loose ball and swept in for the touchdown to which Tickle tacked on the conversion points.

Five minutes from the interval, Catalans were right back in the game when David Ferriol crashed through a weak-tackling Hull rearguard to score, but Bosc pulled his conversion attempt across the face of the post.

Three minutes into the second period Richard Horne scored a brilliant 30-metre try after a break by Hutch Maiava. Tickle kicked the conversion

Catalans' influential fullback Clint Greenshields was sin-binned in the 51st minute for holding down and Hull's Raynor followed suit three minutes later for the same offense after Khattabi had left the Hull defence stranded from an interception.

Sing appeared to have put the game out of Catalans' reach in the 62nd minute when he out-jumped the French defence to touchdown from a Horne cross-kick but, against the wind, the conversion attempt flew across the face of the posts.

A long pass by Jones in the 70th minute stranded the Hull defence and Bosc ran in for an easy try which he had no problem in turning into a six-pointer.

Hull finally wrapped up the game four minutes from the hooter when Tickle swept home after the Catalans defence were unable to handle a towering Lee kick and Hull's man of the match Tickle kicked the conversion from in front of the posts.

Catalans tried desperately in the closing minutes to get back into the game but they were well held by a Hull defence which had been jittery at periods particularly in the first half against a powerful Dragons pack.