Latest news with #LeighLeopards
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Joe Ofahengaue stars in Leigh's statement victory over St Helens
Leigh Leopards further underlined their position as bona fide Super League title contenders with another statement victory, this time winning at fourth-placed St Helens to close the gap further on the competition's top two. A month ago, Leigh conceded 50 points at Leeds and with fixtures against the league leaders Hull KR, second-placed Wigan and the Saints on the horizon, it was not inconceivable to consider whether the Leopards could find themselves in a scramble just to make the play-offs in the final two months of the season. However, they have won all three games to not only solidify their position inside the top six but mount an assault on Hull KR and Wigan above them. Adrian Lam's side are now just one point behind the Warriors and three behind the Robins after their first victory at St Helens since 1982. Against a Saints side who themselves had aspirations of a top-two finish and a home semi-final in the play-offs having won five games in a row, Leigh were defensively meticulous and clinical when it mattered at the other end, with Joe Ofahengaue's second half try sealing another eye-catching win. A Championship side just three years ago, Leigh have emerged as one of Super League's best clubs on and off the field and are firmly in the conversation for the Grand Final. The game has not had a first-time winner at Old Trafford since Leeds in 2004; suddenly, it is not outrageous to suggest the Leopards could end that wait. The game had all the hallmarks of an early sighting of the play-offs. It was eye-wateringly intense from start to finish and you always felt that every point would be crucial. That was emphasised when the Leopards twice opted to kick penalties from the boot of Gareth O'Brien to take a four-point lead at half-time. In contrast the Saints – who avoided being nilled at home for the first time in the Super League only through Harry Robertson's late consolation – opted to chance their arm and run the ball instead of taking kickable penalties. That proved to be fatal come full time, as their attack failed to muster anything significant to trouble a wonderful Leigh defensive effort. The Leopards then struck a decisive blow midway through the second half. With the Saints still stuttering offensively, Edwin Ipape teed up for Ofahengaue, who barged through three defenders to touch down and give O'Brien a simple conversion to make it 10-0. Could St Helens respond? In short, no. They continued to toil away without any success in attack, with Paul Wellens bizarrely opting to use only two of his interchanges all evening and keeping Jon Bennison and Leon Cowen on the bench. 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 And victory was assured in the final stages. After an error from Kyle Feldt the ball found its way to Ofahengaue, one of several magnificent recruits from the NRL in recent years that have transformed this club, and he crossed unchallenged to make it 16-0. Robertson's consolation with seconds left mattered little in terms of the outcome. It was an historic evening on a number of fronts. Records are there to be broken – and perhaps a first league title since 1982 is now not out of the question for a club who were making up the numbers just a few short years ago.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Impressive Leigh secure rare victory at Saints
Betfred Super LeagueSt Helens (0) 4Try: RobertsonLeigh (4) 16Tries: Ofahengaue 2 Goals: O'Brien 4 Prop Joe Ofahengaue scored both Leigh Leopards tries as his side pulled off their first victory at St Helens since 1982 and kept up the pressure on Super League's top crossed midway through the second half to provide the Leopards with some breathing space after two Gareth O'Brien penalties had put them 4-0 up at the who went into the game on the back of five straight victories, enjoyed plenty of possession but could not break down Leigh's gritty capitalised to grab a second try after Kyle Feldt spilled Lachlan Lam's kick and, although Harry Robertson belatedly put Saints on the scoresheet, it was too late to prevent the Leopards moving to within a point of second-placed to follow. St Helens: Sailor, Feldt, Robertson, Whitley, Dagnall, Lomax, Mbye, Walmsley, Wingfield, Delaney, Sironen, Lees, Bennison, Paasi, Whitby, CowenLeigh: Hodgson, Brand, Niu, Hanley, Charnley, O'Brien, Lam, Trout, Ipape, Ofahengaue, Halton, Hughes, McNamara, Tuitavake, Davis, Chris Kendall.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'I want to finish career at Leigh'
Leigh Leopards winger Josh Charnley said he wants to stay at the club and has apologised for suggesting he could return to his former side Wigan Warriors next 34-year-old is out of contract at the end of the Super League campaign and currently does not have a deal for 2026. Charnley, who is second on the Super League all-time try-scoring list, added his 250th and 251st tries in Leigh's convincing 28-10 victory against Hull KR on Saturday. He is nine behind Ryan Hall, who has his future is not settled, Charnley would like to stay where he is."I'd like to finish [my career] off at Leigh but I'm just trying to enjoy the time that I've got here because I don't know if I'll still be in the squad," he told BBC Radio Manchester's Total Sport programme."I've just got to keep performing, and if something comes at Leigh, I'd grab it with two hands, but I'm just in a bit of limbo mode and I don't know what my future holds."I want to stay in Super League. It's the best in the country and I want to be up there with the top try-scoring talent, but I want to be number one."I'm really enjoying it at Leigh, the way that [owner] Derek [Beaumont] and [head coach] Adrian [Lam] are putting on performances at the club – it's just a good environment to be in at the moment." Charnley has moved to clarify his position after saying in another interview that he would like to end his career back at Wigan, where he won three Grand Finals and two Challenge Cups. He is also seven tries behind Warriors' top try-scorer in the Super League era, Liam on Sky Sports' The Bench podcast ahead of Leigh's 18-8 win over Wigan on 4 July, Charnley was asked what his "dream scenario" would be in terms of where he would like to end his career."Probably at Wigan. I'm so close to their try-scoring record so there's a little goal there," he said."Wigan gave me the opportunity in this game and it would be good to finish off there if I could." With that interview now released, Charnley has described its style as "fun" but added he had been "a little naive" when "responding to the question of what would be a 'dream' outcome"."There's a clear difference between reality and a 'dream' and I was simply referencing in a perfect dream world I would protect my Wigan record as well as having the number one record as a try-scorer [for a single season]," Charnley said in a statement., external"I have always been very clear about how happy I am at Leigh Leopards. "It's the best environment in which I have been throughout my career, and I have always been clear that I want to continue my career here."I would like to apologise to my club and its sponsors and fans for any upset the interview has caused and assure everyone my unequivocal commitment is to Leigh Leopards where I hope I am able to remain."Play-off chasing Leigh are currently third in the Super League table, five points behind leaders Hull KR, with nine games of the regular season to go.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sorting out Super League's fixtures: Is it fair?
St Helens' win against Salford Red Devils in June was their third against them this season [SWPix] When St Helens welcome Leigh Leopards to the Totally Wicked Stadium on Thursday, there is slightly more context to the match than just a game between Super League rivals battling for a play-off spot. Despite the end-of-season run-in sneaking up, it will be the first time the two teams have met in 2025. Advertisement Some sides have taken each other on as many as three times already, and yet Paul Wellens' Saints and Adrian Lam's Leopards have yet to do so. So why does this happen? How is each season's schedule drawn up? What makes Super League's fixture list unique? What are 'loop fixtures' and why are these so divisive? BBC Sport set out to find out why Super League's crowded schedule is so skewed and whether that matters. What are loop fixtures? Super League's current fixtures structure ensures every team plays 27 games over the course of a regular season, not including the end-of-season play-offs. Advertisement Of those 27 matches, 11 are played at home, 11 away, one at Magic Weekend at a neutral venue and the other four are so-called 'loop' fixtures. Those four games are decided based on league placings from the previous season. Clubs which finished in even-number positions in the Super League table in the previous campaign face additional fixtures against teams that did likewise, with odd facing odd. In the case of St Helens, for example, they finished sixth last season, meaning their loop fixtures in 2025 are second-placed Hull KR, fourth-placed Salford, 10th-placed Castleford and newly-promoted Wakefield Trinity. Advertisement Meanwhile, Saints took on eighth-placed Leeds Rhinos at Magic Weekend in May. Loop fixtures fill the gap from when Super League was reduced from 14 teams to 12 for the 2015 season. Previously, a late-season split structure operated under which clubs would play 23 games and then be divided into three pools of eight, involving the 24 teams making up Super League and the Championship. The top 'Super 8s' group played seven further games, with the top four at that stage progressing to contest places in the Super League Grand Final. However, that format was ended ahead of the 2019 campaign which saw each top-flight team play a total of 29 regular season fixtures, including six additional loop games. Advertisement In 2022, after two Covid-affected seasons, that was reduced to the 27-game format currently in use. All clear so far? Quirks of the 2025 season St Helens, on the face of it, seem to have prospered from having a lopsided 2025 schedule, with two of the wins in their recent five-game streak coming home and away against beleaguered Salford Red Devils. Their meetings with the financially-challenged Red Devils have been something of a free-hit for Wellens' side, who have scored a cumulative 182 points in the three games this term, while conceding only four. It has helped Saints boost their points difference in the Super League table to 285 - the third-highest in the league and 246 more than Leigh, who are directly above them. Advertisement It has taken 18 rounds for Saints and Leigh to finally meet, yet they will take each other on again in the penultimate round of fixtures on 12 September - a second meeting in the final nine games before the play-offs. Of course, league position at any given point of a season cannot be predicted in advance, but Warrington have had a difficult run-in so far in 2025. Not only have the Challenge Cup finalists faced significant injury challenges, their meeting with Salford on 4 July was only the fourth time they had faced an opponent in the bottom four of Super League. Juggling the schedule When the RFL compile the following season's fixtures late in the preceding year, there are more obstacles to getting the list in order than appear on the surface. Advertisement Maximising television audiences, stadium availability and pitch resurfacing can all impact when teams play and who they will face, with the latter sometimes having a prolonged influence on some teams' schedules. Wigan played six away games in a row due to work being undertaken on the pitch at the Brick Community Stadium home they share with football club Wigan Athletic, whose season came to an end in May. Similarly, Warrington's win against Salford began a run of four consecutive away games with work under way on their pitch at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. Other clubs who groundshare with other sports, like St Helens, Salford, Huddersfield and Hull FC, have similar challenges fitting their home games around when their stadiums are in use or having essential maintenance. Advertisement Changes can be made at relatively short notice during the season, with Huddersfield announcing on Tuesday that three of their upcoming games would move dates due to stadium availability at the Accu Stadium, which they share with football team Huddersfield Town. Meanwhile, Leeds cannot play at Headingley, which adjoins the cricket ground of the same name, if there is an England Test match or a Yorkshire T20 Blast game taking place on the same day. In a statement issued to BBC Sport, the RFL said: "The development of the fixture list is a complex and time intensive project by several people, as well as a leading software programme. "A competition of 12 teams, with a season length of 27 rounds, to include loop fixtures, and over 100 requests from the clubs, means it will never be perfect, but every attempt is made to ensure it is the best version it can be." Catalans have faced Leigh three times this season - including once at the Magic Weekend - and have lost each time [SWPix] 'I'm a stickler for the old school' Leigh boss Adrian Lam is not a fan of a mixed-up schedule packed with loop fixtures. Advertisement His side have taken on last season's quadruple winners, and borough rivals, Wigan three times - one of those being a loop fixture. However, on paper, what might be seen as a disadvantage has given his side the opportunity to test themselves against the best, coming out on the winning side twice, including their comeback victory at Leigh Sport Village earlier this month. Despite this, Lam would prefer to a more traditional fixtures line-up, with the opportunity to beat the best in the play-offs at the end of the campaign. "I don't get it. I'm a stickler for old school," he told BBC Radio Manchester in June after taking on Catalans for a third time. Advertisement "I think we should play each other once, I think we should play each other twice and then play the last group at the very end. "That's how you get an even ladder. We've played Catalans three times before we've played Leeds once. How does that make sense? "I know there are bigger things to worry about with the RFL, but if you look at the ladder and a fair competition, it only makes sense that you play everyone once and then everyone twice before you play someone three times. Not the other way round. That is just common sense." But is this viewpoint shared by Lam's counterpart across the borough? Advertisement "It's none of my business, to be honest," Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet told BBC Radio Manchester when asked about his thoughts on loop fixtures. "The game's got plenty on its plate at the moment. "I think everyone ideally would be in a competition where we all play the same games equally and they were fair but that's not to be."
BBC News
6 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Sorting out Super League's fixtures: Is it fair?
When St Helens welcome Leigh Leopards to the Totally Wicked Stadium on Thursday, there is slightly more context to the match than just a game between Super League rivals battling for a play-off the end-of-season run-in sneaking up, it will be the first time the two teams have met in sides have taken each other on as many as three times already, and yet Paul Wellens' Saints and Adrian Lam's Leopards have yet to do why does this happen? How is each season's schedule drawn up? What makes Super League's fixture list unique? What are 'loop fixtures' and why are these so divisive? BBC Sport set out to find out why Super League's crowded schedule is so skewed and whether that matters. What are loop fixtures? Super League's current fixtures structure ensures every team plays 27 games over the course of a regular season, not including the end-of-season those 27 matches, 11 are played at home, 11 away, one at Magic Weekend at a neutral venue and the other four are so-called 'loop' four games are decided based on league placings from the previous which finished in even-number positions in the Super League table in the previous campaign face additional fixtures against teams that did likewise, with odd facing the case of St Helens, for example, they finished sixth last season, meaning their loop fixtures in 2025 are second-placed Hull KR, fourth-placed Salford, 10th-placed Castleford and newly-promoted Wakefield Saints took on eighth-placed Leeds Rhinos at Magic Weekend in fixtures fill the gap from when Super League was reduced from 14 teams to 12 for the 2015 a late-season split structure operated under which clubs would play 23 games and then be divided into three pools of eight, involving the 24 teams making up Super League and the top 'Super 8s' group played seven further games, with the top four at that stage progressing to contest places in the Super League Grand that format was ended ahead of the 2019 campaign which saw each top-flight team play a total of 29 regular season fixtures, including six additional loop 2022, after two Covid-affected seasons, that was reduced to the 27-game format currently in clear so far? Quirks of the 2025 season St Helens, on the face of it, seem to have prospered from having a lopsided 2025 schedule, with two of the wins in their recent five-game streak coming home and away against beleaguered Salford Red meetings with the financially-challenged Red Devils have been something of a free-hit for Wellens' side, who have scored a cumulative 182 points in the three games this term, while conceding only has helped Saints boost their points difference in the Super League table to 285 - the third-highest in the league and 246 more than Leigh, who are directly above them. It has taken 18 rounds for Saints and Leigh to finally meet, yet they will take each other on again in the penultimate round of fixtures on 12 September - a second meeting in the final nine games before the course, league position at any given point of a season cannot be predicted in advance, but Warrington have had a difficult run-in so far in only have the Challenge Cup finalists faced significant injury challenges, their meeting with Salford on 4 July was only the fourth time they had faced an opponent in the bottom four of Super League. Juggling the schedule When the RFL compile the following season's fixtures late in the preceding year, there are more obstacles to getting the list in order than appear on the television audiences, stadium availability and pitch resurfacing can all impact when teams play and who they will face, with the latter sometimes having a prolonged influence on some teams' played six away games in a row due to work being undertaken on the pitch at the Brick Community Stadium home they share with football club Wigan Athletic, whose season came to an end in Warrington's win against Salford began a run of four consecutive away games with work under way on their pitch, external at the Halliwell Jones clubs who groundshare with other sports, like St Helens, Salford, Huddersfield and Hull FC, have similar challenges fitting their home games around when their stadiums are in use or having essential can be made at relatively short notice during the season, with Huddersfield announcing on Tuesday, external that three of their upcoming games would move dates due to stadium availability at the Accu Stadium, which they share with football team Huddersfield Leeds cannot play at Headingley, which adjoins the cricket ground of the same name, if there is an England Test match or a Yorkshire T20 Blast game taking place on the same a statement issued to BBC Sport, the RFL said: "The development of the fixture list is a complex and time intensive project by several people, as well as a leading software programme."A competition of 12 teams, with a season length of 27 rounds, to include loop fixtures, and over 100 requests from the clubs, means it will never be perfect, but every attempt is made to ensure it is the best version it can be." 'I'm a stickler for the old school' Leigh boss Adrian Lam is not a fan of a mixed-up schedule packed with loop side have taken on last season's quadruple winners, and borough rivals, Wigan three times - one of those being a loop on paper, what might be seen as a disadvantage has given his side the opportunity to test themselves against the best, coming out on the winning side twice, including their comeback victory at Leigh Sport Village earlier this this, Lam would prefer to a more traditional fixtures line-up, with the opportunity to beat the best in the play-offs at the end of the campaign."I don't get it. I'm a stickler for old school," he told BBC Radio Manchester in June after taking on Catalans for a third time."I think we should play each other once, I think we should play each other twice and then play the last group at the very end."That's how you get an even ladder. We've played Catalans three times before we've played Leeds once. How does that make sense?"I know there are bigger things to worry about with the RFL, but if you look at the ladder and a fair competition, it only makes sense that you play everyone once and then everyone twice before you play someone three times. Not the other way round. That is just common sense."But is this viewpoint shared by Lam's counterpart across the borough?"It's none of my business, to be honest," Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet told BBC Radio Manchester when asked about his thoughts on loop fixtures."The game's got plenty on its plate at the moment."I think everyone ideally would be in a competition where we all play the same games equally and they were fair but that's not to be."
