Castleford Tigers v Leigh Leopards verdict as Leigh take victory in scrappy affair

Castleford Tigers host Leigh Leopards in the second Super League match on Saturday evening and here’s how it unfolded.

The Tigers boss Danny McGuire made several changes to his side that last played two weeks ago. Loanee Lee Kershaw went straight in on the wing to replace Innes Senior, who missed out through a ban. Liam Horne and Jeremiah Simbiken returned to the starting line-up as Judah Rimbu and Brad Singleton dropped out.

It was a similar affair for Leigh coach Adrian Lam as he switched across the backline to the side that beat Wakefield Trinity 20-12 last weekend in the Challenge Cup. Darnell McIntosh returned on the wing as Keanan Brand moved into the centres to replace Umyla Hanley. Jack Hughes replaced Ethan O’Neill in the starting line-up with Aaron Pene returning to the bench.

Here’s our verdict of Castleford Tigers v Leigh Leopards on Saturday night.

Leigh Leopards see out Castleford Tigers in scrappy affair

It won’t go down as a Super League classic but Leigh Leopards will just be grateful for the two points over performances in this game and some solid attack.

Leigh were the first to capitalise following some poor Castleford defence. Robbin Mulhern broke down the middle of the field before Edwin Ipape scored a trademark try after the previous tackle. Gareth OBrien added the extras to give the Leaoprds a 6-0 lead.

Just a few minutes later, Castleford’s George Lawler was sent to the sin-bin for a tip tackle on Owen Trout. O’Brien chose to take the penalty kick for an 8-0 lead.

It was a scrappy affair throughout the first half and it took Leigh until the 35th minute to get back on the scoresheet. Darnell McIntosh scored in the corner on his return to the Leopards’ side with a tiring Tigers defence. O’Brien missed the conversion as Leigh took a 12-0 lead into half-time.

It was more of the same to begin the second half with Leigh again scoring quickly. Just two minutes after the half-time break, Bailey Hodgson made his way over the line after a succession of passes towards their left edge.

Leigh continued to attack with McIntosh getting his second of the night. O’Brien and Lachlan Lam combined on the right edge for the winger to go in at the corner. He then took over the kicking duties but missed converting his own try. This gave the Leopards a 20-0 lead.

The Tigers were reduced to twelve men again in the 64th minute after Sylvester Namo was sent to the bin for a swinging arm on Bailey Hodgson.

It took Castleford until the 74th minute to get points on the board. Zac Cini leapt into the air to collect a kick to score next to the posts. Rowan Milnes added the extras for a 20-6 scoreline.

Good day for

Leigh’s standings in Super League. Whilst it wasn’t the biggest victory the Leopards have had, it was more like job done for them. They’re now on a positive points difference (+1) and climbed two places in the Super League table. Not their best performance but two points nonetheless.

Bad day for

Castleford in general. Their attacks were few and far between and all that defending tired them out to make effective attacks. McGuire needs to address these issues quickly because it was hard to find many positives out of that performance.

Star man

Lachlan Lam. Once again, he organised Leigh’s attack with his kicking game. He also got himself two try assists in the match. It wasn’t his best performance by any means but he orchestrated everything good that the Leopards did.

Teams for Castleford Tigers v Leigh Leopards

Castleford Tigers XIII: Tex Hoy, Josh Simm, Zac Cini, Sam Wood, Lee Kershaw, Daejarn Asi, Rowan Milnes, Muizz Mustapha, Liam Horne, George Lawler, Jeremiah Simbiken, Alex Mellor, Joe Westerman.

Interchanges: George Griffin, Cain Robb, Sylvester Namo, Dan Okoro.

Leigh Leopards XIII: David Armstrong, Darnell McIntosh, Tesi Niu, Keanan Brand, Bailey Hodgson, Gareth O’Brien, Lachlan Lam, Owen Trout, Edwin Ipape, Robbin Mulhern, Frankie Halton, Jack Hughes, Isaac Liu.