Betfred Super League Round 17
Leopards Den, Saturday 13 July 2024 (3pm)
Leigh Leopards 20-16 Huddersfield Giants
Leopards returned home after 64 days in exile and leapfrogged above eighth placed Giants in the Betfred Super League table after a dramatic finish.
Quickfire tries by Kai O’Donnell and Zak Hardaker looked to have wrapped up a chaotic and scrappy game to punish 12-man Giants for decisively losing Andre Savelio, red carded for a shoulder charge to the head of Robbie Mulhern.
Darnell McIntosh was then denied what looked like a superb, acrobatic try in the corner which would have made the game safe.
McIntosh finished spectacularly by the flag, planting the ball down one handed in the tackle, but referee Tom Grant ruled ‘no try’ and Ben Thaler, the video referee, did not overturn the on-field decision.
Playing with tremendous spirit to the end, Giants almost snatched the game out of the fire.
Left winger Elliot Wallis was awarded a penalty try after being impeded chasing a kick to the corner, Jake Connor converting from in front of the posts to reduce the deficit to four points.
And in one final attack Leopards just hung as the outstanding Bard Yates was hauled down close to the line before Giants lost possession after attempting to ship the ball again to Wallis’s wing.
Relief was the overriding reaction after a scrappy win with Leopards dominating field position for long spells but lacking fluency in attack.
Giants, under caretaker coach Luke Robinson after Ian Watson’s dismissal following a run of eight defeats in their last nine games, forced the early pressure. They scored first through Wallis in the corner after halfbacks Adam Clune and Tui Lolohea created the space.
Leopards’ supporters in the North Stand crowd surfed the specially made giant flag in tribute to the late Rob Burrow CBE in a magnificent seventh minute tribute.
Gareth O’Brien twice went close, and Edwin Ipape got over the line but was penalised for a double movement.
Leopards finally levelled when Ipape’s smart distribution from the base of the scrum and Umyla Hanley’s footwork and vision created the opening for McIntosh to mark his home debut with a smart finish by the flag.
Matt Moylan was just off target with the conversion but gave his side a hard-earned half-time lead with a penalty for a high tackle on Aaron Pene.
Giants lost Joe Greenwood and Sam Hewitt to injuries but came out strongly in the second half, Jake Bibby sparking a counter attack that Connor finished off as they regained the lead.
Former Leigh favourite Chris Hill and Leopards’ Jack Hughes were pulled out from a skirmish in front of the North Stand and sin binned. Leopards were awarded the penalty and Moylan levelled the scores at 8-8.
Then came Savelio’s red as he came in third man in the tackle and got his timing all wrong, ending up shoulder charging Mulhern’s head, a straight red the result.
Despite being short handed Giants regained the lead for a third time with a Connor penalty after O’Donnell went high on Yates.
But just three minutes later O’Donnell was the Leopards hero after finishing off a glorious move with John Asiata and Lachlan Lam the creators.
When Lam and Moylan created a left wing finish for Hardaker, which he converted superbly from the touchline, Leopards looked home- but we reckoned without the dramatic finish that had the vast majority of the vibrant 7,000 plus crowd biting their fingernails until the hooter sounded.
Leopards
6 Matt Moylan; 24 Umyla Hanley, 34 Darnell McIntosh, 4 Ricky Leutele, 3 Zak Hardaker; 1 Gareth O’Brien, 7 Lachlan Lam (capt); 8 Tom Amone, 9 Edwin Ipape, 10 Robbie Mulhern, 11 Kai O’Donnell, 16 Frankie Halton, 17 Owen Trout
Bench:
35 Aaron Pene, 13 John Asiata, 12 Jack Hughes, 33 Brad Dwyer. 18th player: 19 Ed Chamberlain (not used)
Tries: McIntosh (27), O’Donnell (65), Hardaker (69)
Goals: Moylan 3/ 4, Hardaker 1/ 1
Sin bin: Hughes (57)
Giants
1 Jake Connor; 30 Aidan McGowan, 5 Jake Bibby, 24 Sam Halsall, 30 Elliot Wallis; 6 Tui Lolohea, 7 Adam Clune; 8 Chris Hill, 9 Adam Milner, 10 Joe Greenwood, 12 Sam Hewitt, 16 Harry Rushton, 13 Luke Yates
Bench: 14 Ash Golding, 17 Olly Wilson, 33 Andre Savelio, 25 Fenton Rogers. 18th player: 29 Jack Billington (not used)
Tries: Wallis (7, 77), Connor (48)
Goals: Connor 2/ 4
Sin bin: Hill (57)
Red card: Savelio (58)
Scoring sequence: 0-4, 4-4, 6-4 (ht) 6-8, 8-8, 8-10, 14-10, 20-10, 20-16
Referee: Tom Grant; Touch judges: D Arnold & P Marklove; MC: P Smith; Reserve referee: I Arnold; VR: Ben Thaler; Timekeeper: K Leyland
Penalty count: 8-10
GLDO: 3-0
Attendance: 7,160
Main Match Sponsor: WL Piling; Associate Match Sponsor: Hamilton Fabrications; Match Programme Sponsor: NutraPrep’s; Match Ball Sponsor: Aspire Joinery Limited; Champagne Moment Sponsor: Chassis and Cab Specialist Ltd (awarded to the Rob Burrow tribute in the 7th minute); Player of the Match Sponsor: IDuct.co.uk (awarded to Darnell McIntosh)
