Betfred Super League Round 7
Mend-A-Hose Jungle, Saturday 12 April 2025 (8pm)
Castleford Tigers 6-20 Leigh Leopards
Darnell McIntosh marked his return from injury with two tries as Leopards returned to winning ways after two straight defeats in the Betfred Super League.
McIntosh, who injured his shoulder on his comeback from a preseason injury in his comeback game against Batley in the Challenge Cup, put weeks of frustration behind him with his brace.
An accomplished topflight finisher, McIntosh has now scored 78 career tries at a try every two games, and his return helped Leopards compensate for the absence of the injured Umyla Hanley.
Bailey Hodgson celebrated his return to the club for whom he made one Super League appearance in 2020 before heading off to Australia. His smartly taken try at the start of the second half secured the win as Leopards quickly built on their 12-0 half-time lead.
Struggling Tigers played 20 minutes with 12 men after losing George Lawler and Sylvester Namo to the sin bin.
Lawler was penalised for a tip tackle on Owen Trout and Gareth O’Brien’s penalty helped Leopards extend their early lead provided by Edwin Ipape’s converted try.
Namo went high on Hodgson who had to leave the field for a HIA but thankfully he was able to return.
One quarter the way through the league season Leopards lie fifth, three points off the top and in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup. A more than satisfactory first base camp with the promise of much more to come.
Until Leopards won at the Jungle in 2023, they hadn’t tasted victory at the ground since 1987 and so this, now their fourth consecutive winning visit, should be placed in context.
With Ethan O’Neill missing his first game of the season through injury Jack Hughes started and played a crucial role in a dominant pack performance.
Once the outstanding Robbie Mulhern steamed through a gap to set up the impetus for Ipape’s fourth minute try Leopards never looked in danger.
They controlled the game effectively without particularly impressing with some of their attacking options, especially on the last tackle.
McIntosh did, however, score from an effective last tackle play sparked by O’Brien and Lachlan Lam to send his side in with a 12-0 lead.
Once Hodgson finished off a clever blindside move, Lam the creator, and McIntosh went over in the opposite corner from O’Brien’s superb pass, the points were in the bag.
Leopards may have left a few tries out there on the Jungle pitch and their ambitions of ‘nilling’ their opponents were dashed with just six minutes remaining.
Deajarn Asi hoisted a pinpoint high kick, and Zac Cini rose highest to claim the score.
Around one thousand Leopards fans filled the Railway End to give some atmosphere to a rather muted occasion. The unusual kick-off time, late on a Saturday evening, may have contributed to that.
Any away win in Super League is hard earned and though far from spectacular this was an important result for Adrian Lam’s side in the context of the season.
Tigers
Tex Hoy; Josh Simm, Zac Cini, Sam Wood, Lee Kershaw; Deajarn Asi, Rowan Milnes; Muizz Mustapha, Liam Horne, George Lawler, Jeremiah Simbiken, Alex Mellor, Joe Westerman
Bench:
George Griffin, Cain Robb, Sylvester Namo, Dan Okoro. 18th player: Jenson Windley
Try:
Cini (74)
Goals:
Milnes 1/ 1
Sin bin:
Lawler (10), Namo (65)
Leopards
David Armstrong; Darnell McIntosh, Keanan Brand, Tesi Niu, Bailey Hodgson; Gareth O’Brien, Lachlan Lam; Owen Trout, Edwin Ipape, Robbie Mulhern, Jack Hughes, Frankie Halton, Isaac Liu
Bench:
Aaron Pene, Matty Davis, Alec Tuitavake, Lius Brogan. 18th player: Ben McNamara
Tries:
Ipape (4), McIntosh (35, 51), Hodgson (43)
Goals:
O’Brien 2/ 4, McIntosh 0/ 1
Scoring sequence: 0-6, 0-8, 0-12 (ht) 0-16, 0-20, 6-20
Referee: Chris Kendall; Touch judges: G Jones & J Roberts
M Com: P Crashley; Reserve referee: D Arnold; Timekeeper: S Williams; Video referee: Ben Thaler
Penalty count: 6-5
GLDO: 1-1
Attendance: 5,807
