Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has assessed his side’s season so far by assigning them a grade, as well as outlining the club’s ambitions looking towards the back end of the year
It’s the end of the year. A 24-20 win over Wakefield Trinity at the weekend kept Leigh in touch with third-place Leeds Rhinos, who are one point behind Brad Arthur’s side and three points ahead of fifth-place St Helens. Despite the fact that the Super League has already completed 14 rounds, Leigh and Leeds are yet to play off in 2025. The Leopards and Rhinos will meet for the first time in two weeks at Headingley, followed by a Round 21 match at Leigh Sports Village.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s game against Wakefield, Lam detailed how he expects the Super League to truly take shape in the upcoming block of games, with the matchups between Leigh and Leeds likely determining who leads the chasing group behind Hull KR and Wigan Warriors. “The next seven or eight games, I think, for everyone in Super League is probably the hardest quarter of the season,” Lam said. He further added: “I think you’ll see some teams come forward or gain a lot of confidence in the next six, seven weeks and hopefully we’re one of those teams.”
Leigh Leopards boss ‘confident’ team can ‘grow’ in second-half of Super League
Leigh overcame Wakefield on Sunday afternoon, laying the groundwork for their future schedule, which includes games against Leeds, Wigan, KR, Saints, Warrington, and Leeds again, after their game against Catalans on Saturday. When asked last week to grade his team’s season thus far, Lam gave it a “B minus or C plus,” citing the lack of rhythm his club has been able to create in a season marked by a big roster makeover.
He explained: “The reasons for that are, of our starting 13 players, there’s probably about nine or ten of those that haven’t played half the season, that haven’t played half the games. “That had to be disruptive for the group, and it has been. We haven’t been able to get into a solid groove like we would have if we hadn’t been injured all year.”
He confirmed that, with the exception of Aaron Pene and Louis Brogan, he expects to have his entire squad available going forward, with Gareth O’Brien and Ethan O’Neill set to return against Catalans; however, he cited the club’s ability to perform in the face of injuries as the reason he is so confident in his side. Lam argued: “As much as we’ve been hampered by injuries at times, we’ve found ways to win, even if it hasn’t always been easy. The team’s tenacity and resilience have undoubtedly brought the squad closer together.
“I feel confident that the minute that we can get some reps together as our best 13 and 17, I think we can only grow as a club and a team.” In terms of where his team can go, he stated that the club intends to host a play-off game and possibly even a semi-final, dismissing the concept that they aim for the top six. “I think top four,” he said. “At this club, we’ve never reached a home semifinal in that portion of the season, so that’s a goal for us; whether it’s third, fourth, first, or second, whatever it is, we’ll take it, and that will just reflect the improvement that we’ve had every year.
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