Leigh Leopards boss Adrian Lam expects to have Edwin Ipape available to take on St Helens next Friday night.
Ipape has missed Leigh’s last two Super League games due to a shoulder injury and it’s fair to say his presence in the Leopards line-up has been missed. Leigh secured the win without him last week as they dispatched Castleford Tigers without breaking a sweat.
However, they could have done with their star hooker on Friday night as they were dismantled by a rampant Hull KR side 24-0 at the Leigh Sports Village. Leigh had won nine of their last 10 games heading into the clash against Willie Peters’ Robins, but they were powerless to prevent Mikey Lewis pulling the strings in the penultimate round of fixtures.
It means that with just one more regular season game to play, Leigh’s place in the top six is still at risk, with the Leopards perched just one point and one place above Leeds Rhinos who are in seventh. They can make sure of their play-off spot next Friday night, though, as they take on St Helens on home soil.
Leigh beat the Saints 46-4 just seven weeks ago and while such a blowout score might be tough to replicate against Paul Wellens’ side, who are almost back to full strength, Lam will be hoping Ipape can make a telling impact on his return to the side.
“It looks like we’re okay after tonight,” Lam said, per Love Rugby League, when addressing the club’s injury situation after their loss to KR.
“Edwin will play next week. If it was a final, he would’ve played tonight, but balancing things up, we made a decision that it was either this week or next week.
“He’s definitely going to be in there next week.”
Leigh need the win to ensure their spot in the play-offs but they’ll be paying close attention to how Catalans Dragons and Leeds Rhinos fare next week, too.
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