Leigh Leopards boss previews ‘hardest game yet’ and sends warning to Super League rivals

Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has previewed Friday’s clash with Catalans Dragons and spoke in the aftermath of Edwin Ipape’s new deal.

After stunning Super League and the wider rugby league world by recording a 1-0 win over Wigan Warriors in the opening game of the season, the Leopards defeated Huddersfield Giants 24-10 in poor conditions at the Leigh Sports Village.

It means that when they host Catalans Dragons on Friday night, they’ll be one of a handful of clubs pushing for a third straight win and Lam has now previewed that match.

He also looked back on the performance against Huddersfield with the Leopards perhaps sluggish to get going, something Lam put down to the weather at the Leigh Sports Village with each team playing into it on either side of the half-time break.

Speaking to the media, he reflected on the win stating: “I think in hindsight watching the game back I was quite happy really in regards to the outcome and the overall efforts that we put in.

“Conditions were really, really poor and coming off after a game against Wigan at that physicality as well can take a little bit out of you. I thought our second half performance was pretty slick considering the conditions and if we get that same effort most weeks, we’re going to be winning rather than the flip side of it all.”

Leigh Leopards boss previews ‘hardest game yet’ and sends warning to Super League rivals

Friday’s opposition are winless but Lam doesn’t expect that to last long with the head coach backing counterpart Steve McNamara to right the ship, particularly with the host of experienced signings Catalans have made.

Previewing Catalans, Lam argued: “I thought they were the better team last week to be honest with you against Warrington, they’re a very physical side and they’re working hard together. They’re doing a lot of the little basics right.

“This is going to be a really difficult challenge for us. They’re a big side, they’re very physical as mentioned, and they’re desperate to get a win. They’re going to come here with a real belief that they can roll us over.

“This is going to be potentially our hardest game so far this year so we’re preparing for that.”

One man who will line up on Friday and potentially for the next six years having signed a bumper new deal is Edwin Ipape with the off-contract hooker sealing his future, as announced pre-match on Sunday.

🐆 𝗘𝗗𝗪𝗜𝗡 𝗜𝗣𝗔𝗣𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗬 🐆

Leigh Leopards are delighted to announce that Edwin Ipape has agreed a six-year extension to his contract, committing himself to the club until the end of the 2031 season.

Read more! ⬇️

— Leigh Leopards (@LeighLeopardsRL) February 23, 2025

Asked what it means to tie the hooker down until the end of the 2031 season, Lam said: “I think it just shows what we feel of him first and foremost. Our fans love Edwin, he’s a guide around these parts of town. What he’s brought to our team has been certainly next level.”

Lam also argued it laid down a marker, stating: “Having said that, we’ve also put a note out to every other club that you just can’t come in and pick our players willy-nilly as you may have done in the past.

“Players are wanting to stay here. We’re building a little group of men here that we feel can take us forward and Edwin’s certainly a big part of that statement last week.”

Another thing of note that the Leigh boss commented upon was the ruck speed with the Leopards playing periods with both Brad Dwyer and Ipape on the field, seemingly in a bid to maintain that fast play the ball.

On the suggestion that ruck speed has been too slow, Lam said: “I agree with that. I think the 10 metres could be a little bit bigger and the ruck speed could be sped up a little bit. I mean, that’s just the same feelings that I have every year around this time with our game, but I’m sure they’re working hard on that.”