Head coach Adrian Lam has warned of the danger and challenges that Leigh Leopards face when they take on Huddersfield Giants.
Leigh play their first home game of the season on Sunday with the Leopards coming off the back of their record-breaking 1-0 win over Wigan Warriors, a game that took place 10 days ago.
When speaking to the media earlier in the week, Lam explained the club had given the players a day off on account of the intense season opener and the lengthy turnaround.
He explained: “It also can be dangerous too because you want to play straight after that if you can, because you’ve got momentum or you feel you’ve got momentum.”
Lam also pointed to the fact that there are so many news players in the Leopards’ squad, noting: To be honest, the players haven’t played too much together, so we need to keep playing together as a group.
“It is a danger game on Sunday, without a doubt. I thought they (Huddersfield) were courageous the other night going down to Warrington, and they’ll come here and they upset us here in round one last year at home which you know is still in the forefront of my mind.”
Leigh Leopards boss calls for player accountability ahead of Huddersfield clash
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This Sunday’s squad has been chosen for our return to The Leopards Den!
SUN 23 FEB | KO 2:30PM | THE LEOPARDS DEN
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— Leigh Leopards (@LeighLeopardsRL) February 21, 2025
Whilst he previewed that danger, much of his press conference focused on his pride regarding the win and also how far-reaching the result was as he explained friends Down Under had been in contact after the rare 1-0 scoreline.
Lam explained: “I’m really happy considering that it’s our first game together as a group. I think five players in the squad were making their debut so to be honest, I wasn’t sure what we’re going to get before the game.
“I think it’s got the whole country talking and even a lot of my friends in Australia were talking about it in different social media chats and all that. So it certainly kicked off well and I think it’s great exposure for the sport altogether right across the whole world.”
He also pointed to just how intense the fixture was, revealing that the ball remained in play for 72 minutes – something that resulted in impressive GPS data for his player’s efforts.
“The ball was what we call in play for 72 minutes which is just unheard of,” the Leigh Leopards coach noted.
“I don’t think that would have happened anywhere else in the world, possibly ever, so it just shows you the intensity of it.”
“When you look at all the statistics and the GPS readings and that, it’s as high as it gets in professional sport anywhere in the world. The heart rate’s at maximum for longer, the metres per minute’s longer, the ball in play was longer, the heart rate’s high for the majority of the time, it’s a real physical tough game and when both teams are defending like that, you get a spectacle.”
Asked how he thinks his team can avoid a significant drop-off from such a high-level performance, Lam pointed to player accountability.
He said: “It’s easy to go out and not be the same team, isn’t it? It’s difficult to play the same performance. So that’s the challenge this week.
“I don’t know all of these players well enough to know that that’s not going to happen so it’s obviously a threat and danger, but it’s on the players.
“They’re accountable to that, so I’ll hold them accountable to the way that they play and if there is anything less than what we were last week, well then there will be some honesty and some questions.”
