Leigh solidify top-four spot after Ofahengaue's late try sees off Wakefield

The Guardian

9 hours ago

Leigh Leopards won this pulsating contest to solidify their position inside the top four and underline why they are a fraction ahead of Wakefield Trinity right now in Super League.
It felt like an afternoon for these two sides to showcase their Old Trafford credentials at the season's end, and both played their part in a thoroughly entertaining game which see-sawed until the final moments.
Leigh are now a bonafide top-six side and they look increasingly likely to be in the playoffs come the end of the summer. Here, they had to do it tough, trailing until the final three minutes before Joe Ofahengaue's late try helped to secure a precious win for the Leopards.
'It's a difficult place to come up to and win,' their coach, Adrian Lam, said. 'It's a real important part of the season and some stupid things put us under pressure. But they showed a lot of courage at the end to get that win – these are the ones that could really count and determine where you finish.'
The weekend served up another reminder of why there are short odds on the grand final this year being a rematch of the 2024 showdown between the defending champions, Wigan Warriors, and the new Challenge Cup winners, Hull KR. Rovers dismantled a woeful Catalans on Friday, while Wigan trailed Huddersfield when the full-time hooter sounded on Saturday, but still found a way to win thanks to Jack Farrimond's try in added time.
However, if either or both those teams slip up, there is an intriguing pack of teams below waiting to pounce – and these two are definite contenders.
Few would have given Wakefield a chance of making the playoffs when they won promotion to Super League, but Daryl Powell's team have acquitted themselves superbly in 2025. They sit seventh, just a point off sixth-placed Hull FC after this defeat but they could, and perhaps should, have been even higher.
This was the fifth game Wakefield have lost by four points or fewer this season. But they will fancy themselves to improve as the season reaches its crescendo this summer.
'We were really good for large parts,' their coach, Daryl Powell, said. 'But they were just too good, they've got some smart players and they got us in the end.' Both full-backs exchanged tries early on here, with Max Jowitt and David Armstrong both crossing for well-taken scores.
Sign up to The Recap
The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action
after newsletter promotion
But as the first half wore on, Leigh improved significantly. Armstrong's second put them further ahead before a wonderful team move led to Darnell McIntosh making it 18-6. But Oliver Pratt's try just before the break halved that 12-point deficit, and after the interval the hosts started on the front foot.
A mountain of pressure from Wakefield looked as though it would come to nothing but, with 16 minutes remaining, Corey Hall seized on a loose ball to touch down and put Trinity ahead.
Leigh responded, though, with seven minutes to go as Ofahengaue, their latest impressive recruit from the NRL, crashed over. As Lam said, who knows how pivotal that moment could be for both teams come September.