Betfred Super League Round 3
Totally Wicked Stadium, Friday 1 March 2024 (8pm)
St Helens 12-4 Leigh Leopards
Leigh Leopards are still looking for their first win of the season but served notice that a change in fortunes will not be too far away after going toe to toe with the former world champions.
Leopards lost two key players to long term injuries, two to the sin bin and ended an attritional and fractious game with just one substitute on the bench but were only edged out in a game of fine margins.
Skipper John Asiata was sin-binned after only 40 seconds and Brad Dwyer, who enjoyed an outstanding debut, followed him late in the second half. Asiata had only just returned when he was helped off with a calf injury and winger Tom Briscoe suffered a similar injury 15 minutes into the second half.
Despite that adversity and the concession of crucial penalties the Leopards conceded only two tries to a Saints side that had begun the season in red hot form.
Defensively, the Leopards were outstanding on a gluepot of a pitch, putting in a huge effort while also showing that, on a drier and firmer surface, they have the attacking potential to click into gear.
In a game of personal battles across the pitch the match-up between Ricky Leutele and Konrad Hurrell was particularly compelling, the two powerful centres both awesome in their commitment and determination and eventually cancelling one another out.
Head coach Adrian Lam was proud of his side’s efforts and the response to their round one defeat against the Giants.
“It is always a tough place to come but enjoyable as well,” he told Leopards TV. “I thought we gave it a good crack.
“Lots of decisions went against us and we suffered injuries to key players which left us down to one man on the bench in the last half there.
“But the boys were outstanding and courageous and I’m proud of their efforts.
“We responded well from round one. Saints have been playing some good rugby in the first two rounds and we hadn’t played since round one, but we matched them in all areas. Their second try really hurt us and wasn’t good enough for us. There were a few missed tackles in there, but we can solve that.
“We had some new faces in the team and two debuts, and it takes time to gel together. We will stay positive. We need more of that.
“We need to hold the ball and be a little bit more disciplined with the penalties. The referee gave some crucial penalties there at difficult times that cost us the game. We dropped the ball on tackle two on three or four occasions which isn’t us. That’s what we need to fix up.
“Having said that, all the other areas are bang on where they need to be. With 15 minutes to go we could have clawed our way back. We are in a good place and have got to keep working hard.”
Saints broke the deadlock on the half hour mark when Jack Welsby cut over on the left, ex-Leigh forward James Bell, who was outstanding coming off the bench, making a crucial contribution in the build-up and Matt Whitley providing the offload to claim the assist.
Dwyer’s fantastic last-ditch tackle, holding up Hurrell over the line in the corner four minutes from half-time, confirmed by the video referee, typified the Leopards’ defensive resolve.
Zak Hardaker blasted over in a massed tackle six minutes into the second half to restore parity and finish off the Leopards’ best incisive attack of the game, Dwyer, Gareth O’Brien, and Matt Moylan all prominent in the build-up.
But when Tommy Makinson finished off a long-range Saints’ attack, instigated by Dodd from inside his own half, with a 30-metre finish five minutes later the momentum shifted towards the home side. Mark Percival’s 56th minute penalty gave them a crucial eight-point advantage they maintained to the end.
Dwyer and Owen Trout made their Leopards’ debuts, earning heritage numbers 1558 and 1559 respectively. Dwyer slotted seamlessly into the pivotal hooking role and looked sharp and creative throughout, while Trout will have benefitted from his first taste of action for nearly 10 months as 58th minute replacement after injury curtailed his 2023 season with the Giants.
St Helens:
1 Jack Welsby; 2 Tommy Makinson, 23 Konrad Hurrell, 4 Mark Percival, 5 Jon Bennison; 6 Jonny Lomax (capt), 7 Lewis Dodd; 8 Alex Walmsley, 9 Daryl Clark, 11 Sione Mata’utia, 19 Matt Whitley, 16 Curtis Sironen, 13 Morgan Knowles.
Bench: 14 Moses Mbye, 15 James Bell, 18 Jake Wingfield, 20 George Delaney.
Tries: Welsby (30), Makinson (51); Goals: Percival 2/ 3.
Leopards:
1 Gareth O’Brien’ 2 Tom Briscoe, £ Zak Hardaker, 4 Ricky Leutele, 5 Josh Charnley; 6 Matt Moylan, 7 Lachlan Lam; 12 Jack Hughes, 33 Brad Dwyer, 10 Robbie Mulhern, 11 Kai O’Donnell, 16 Frankie Halton, 13 John Asiata (capt).
Bench: 14 Dan Norman; 15 Matt Davis, 17 Owen Trout, 18 Ben Nakubuwai.
Try: Hardaker (46); Goal: Hardaker 0/ 1.
Sin bin: Asiata (1), Dwyer (75)
Debuts: Dwyer (HN#1558), Trout (HN#1559).
Referee: Liam Moore
Half-time: 4-0
Attendance: 13,028
Penalty count: 9-5
