Betfred Super League Round 8
Warrington Wolves 16-14 Leigh Leopards
Halliwell Jones Stadium; Saturday 20 April 2024 (3pm)
Leopards suffered an agonising defeat in the sunshine of the Halliwell Jones Stadium as Matty Nicholson’s late try broke their hearts.
It was another case of so near, yet so far for the Leopards as five of their six Super League defeats have been by margins of ten points or less.
Leopards will look back on this game as one of wasted opportunities to seal what would have been their first competitive win on Warrington soil for 37 years.
When the outstanding Ricky Leutele crossed for a finely constructed try early in the second half the visitors held a 14-6 lead and looked set to reward a fine all-round effort by a team that is not far off last season’s performance standards.
But Wolves fed off the energy of their great start to the season and the belief that new coach Sam Burgess has instilled into a squad that at one stage last year, after their defeat at the Leopards Den in May, suffered a run of 10 losses in 11 games.
The Wolves’ superior speed in their back five eventually paid dividends as home man of the match Lachlan Fitzgibbon’s burst and offload created a reviving try for pacy, supporting fullback Matt Dufty.
The hungry Wolves then turned last ditch defence into a devastating high-speed attack, going the length of the field in a set climaxed by Nicholson romping over for what proved to be the clincher, with Dufty and Josh Thewlis playing supporting roles.
There was still time for Leopards to snatch the victory spoils but despite several spells of pressure they couldn’t prize an opening and kill off the game.
Leopards had begun what was a thrilling, high-skilled game on the front foot. Josh Charnley, one of six former Wolves players in the visitors’ ranks, marked his 350th career game with a trademark left-wing finish by the flag after Lachlan Lam, Matt Moylan and Leutele combined to make the opportunity.
Firzgibbon replied with his first Wolves try since joining from Newcastle Knights, fastening onto Leon Hayes’ kick, and was given the verdict after a lengthy video referee referral.
But Leopards were good value for their interval lead, created by Lam’s kick to the right that was acrobatically claimed by Umyla Hanley and hacked on by Zak Hardaker for the supporting Ben McNamara to score.
Oliver Holmes’ brilliant last ditch tackle to deny Connor Wrench what looked like a certain try summed up the Leopards’ defensive resolve.
When Leutele finished off a brilliant left-wing move from Charnley’s assist Leopards’ fine start to the second half looked set to lay the platform for a much-needed victory, but it was not to be.
Leopards return to home soil next Friday when Catalans Dragons are the visitors in Round 9 (8pm).
Wolves
1 Matt Dufty; 2 Josh Thewlis, 20 Connor Wrench, 3 Toby King, 5 Matty Ashton; 6 George Williams, 18 Leon Hayes; 8 James Harrison, 9 Danny Walker, 15 Joe Philbin, 13 Matty Nicholson, 12 Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 17 Jordy Crowther
Bench: 4 Stefan Ratchford, 10 Paul Vaughan, 19 Joe Bullock, 32 Sam Powell. 18th player: 28 Adam Holroyd
Tries: Fitzgibbon (21), Dufty (64), Nicholson (70)
Goals: Thewlis 2/ 3
Leopards
6 Matt Moylan; 24 Umyla Hanley, 3 Zak Hardaker, 4 Ricky Leutele, 5 Josh Charnley; 21 Ben McNamara, 7 Lachlan Lam (captain); 8 Tom Amone, 15 Matty Davis, 10 Robbie Mulhern, 11 Kai O’Donnell, 16 Frankie Halton, 17 Owen Trout
Bench: 14 Dan Norman, 12 Jack Hughes, 20 Oliver Holmes, 33 Brad Dwyer. 18th player: 19 Ed Chamberlain
Tries: Charnley (3), McNamara (33), Leutele (49)
Goals: Moylan 1/ 3
Scoring sequence: 0-4, 6-4, 6-10 (ht) 6-14, 12-14, 16-14
Attendance: 10,443; Penalty count: 5-3
Referee: Liam Moore; Touch-judges: W Turley & R Thompson; Video referee: James Vella; Reserve referee: Tom Grant; Timekeeper: N Hope; MC: P Smith
