Leigh Leopards wiped the floor with Hull KR to make it ten wins out of 11 in the Betfred Super League. It’s a result that takes them up to second in the table and they are now without a doubt, the in-form team in the league. With performances like this, there seems to be no limit to how far Adrian Lam’s team can go.
After a narrow defeat to Catalans Dragons last time out this was a real test of their mettle. But it’s a test they passed with flying colours as they put a poor KR side to the sword in front of their own fans. Kingston Rovers had won back-to-back games coming into this one, but this will no doubt be a confidence sapper ahead of the derby next weekend.
Without Jordan Abdull, they were always going to find this tough, but they made it more difficult for themselves as they had an early sinbin to contend with. Mikey Lewis went in late for a tackle, sliding along the floor with his legs before wiping out Tom Briscoe and he was shown an early yellow card.
Leigh took advantage of the extra man through Briscoe as the hosts shifted the ball out wide with speed and aggression before the wide man added the finishing touch in the corner. Edwin Ipape then got his 5th try of the season soon after as he showed an incredible turn of pace and power to battle his way over the line. The Championship Player of the Year in 2022 now has 23 in 27 for Leigh, but Reynolds struck the post with his conversion attempt. 10-0.
Things just kept getting better for Leigh as Ed Chamberlain made it three tries in the opening 20 minutes as he skipped past one missed challenge, then sold a defender a wonderful dummy before crossing. Lachlan Lam moved onto 19 try assists for the season, clear of anybody else as
When the Leopards did come under some pressure, they worked as a team to snuff it out. At one point, Fouad Yaha tried to make progress down the right but three players came over to shove him out of play.
The visitors then failed to deal with a long kick and subsequently Josh Charnley was left free to score his 20th try of the season to make him joint top scorer in the Betfred Super League level with Tom Johnstone.
Hull KR actually made a decent start to the second half but nine minutes they floundered at a drop out and then Ricky Leutele was held back when he was certain to score. The referee awarded a penalty try and Leigh Leopards were 28-0 up, cruising on their way to yet another victory. Robbie Mulhern scored another before Lewis pulled one back for Hull KR, but that was as good as it got for them.
What Lam has done this season has been truly spectacular. They were only promoted last season having lost one game in the Championship and yet now they are competing with the big boys in the Betfred Super League. In their last season at this level, they only won twice. Now they’ve won 11 this season, after a sluggish start to the campaign.
Leopards have found their bite. Who knows how far they can go?
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