Andrew Badrock initiated the scoring with the first of Leigh’s five tries in their victory over St Helens.
Betfred Super League
Leigh (12) 28
Tries: Badrock, Brand, Hughes, Ipape, Trout Goals: O’Brien 3, Hodgson
St Helens (0) 10
Tries: Feldt, Robertson Goal: Percival
Leigh Leopards have secured a home fixture in the opening week of the Super League play-offs, triumphing over St Helens at the Leigh Sports Village.
Tries from Andrew Badrock, Keanan Brand, Jack Hughes, Edwin Ipape, and Owen Trout underpinned a decisive victory, propelling Leigh past Leeds Rhinos into third position.
Despite second-half tries from Saints’ Kyle Feldt and Harry Robertson injecting hope into the visitors’ performance, they ultimately succumbed to their third successive defeat.
This result guarantees Leigh a top-four finish in the regular season for the first time in the Super League era, although Wigan’s win over Castleford extinguished their aspirations for a top-two finish.
Meanwhile, St Helens are confirmed to finish fifth, irrespective of the outcome of their final match against Castleford Tigers on 19 September.
Wigan thump Castleford to clinch top-two finish
In the 12th minute, Lachlan Lam’s astute playmaking set up Bailey Hodgson, who in turn selflessly passed to Badrock for a clinical try, marking the culmination of a fluid attacking move.
Shortly thereafter, Trout appeared to extend the home side’s lead, but the video referee, Jack Smith, ruled out the try due to a double movement before grounding the ball.
Following a dominant opening quarter, Umyla Hanley’s powerful run allowed Lam to recycle the ball, leading to Brand stepping inside Deon Cross for Lam’s 40th try assist of the season.
A high kick from Saints’ Moses Mbye caused disarray in the Leigh defence, eventually allowing Curtis Sironen to attempt a try, which was disallowed due to Tristan Sailor being offside in the build-up.
In the closing moments of the first half, Papua New Guinea international Ipape was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Daryl Clark, marking Leigh’s first sin-bin of the Super League season.
Harry Robertson’s try early in the second half gave Saints hope
Early in the second half, with Ipape still off the field, Saints capitalised, as Robertson found Feldt out wide for a try in the corner.
Moments later, Robertson transitioned from provider to scorer, reducing Saints’ deficit to two points. He seized upon an error under the high ball from Hodgson, collecting a pass from Sailor to score.
Upon Ipape’s return to the field, Gareth O’Brien’s kick was challenged by Leigh centre Hanley, who found Hughes. The latter’s footwork allowed him to secure a crucial try.
A superb line break from Hodgson set up another promising position, before Ipape received the ball to power through the Saints defence, effectively sealing the match.
A deft grubber kick from Ipape found Trout with five minutes remaining to round off the scoring.
Leigh Leopards coach Adrian Lam:
“I’m incredibly proud. We set a goal at the start of the year to be in the top four and potentially host a Super League quarter-final.
“I’m proud of the group and their hard work; it’s massive.
“I thought we controlled most of the game, and I particularly enjoyed parts of it.
“I was frustrated by the sin-bin; I don’t think it should have been a penalty. The contact was with the ball first.”
Leigh: Hodgson; Brand, Badrock, Hanley, Charnley; O’Brien, Lam; Trout, Ipape, Mulhern, Halton, Hughes, Liu.
Interchanges: Pene, Davis, Dwyer, Ofahengaue.
St Helens: Sailor; Feldt, Robertson, Percival, Cross; Welsby, Mbye; Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Whitley, Batchelor.
Interchanges: Lomax, Bell, Paasi, Delaney.
Referee: Liam Moore.
Comments can not be loaded
To load Comments you need to enable JavaScript in your browser