Individual errors at key moments were the key to Leigh Leopards’ defeat to Wigan Warriors on Friday night, coach Adrian Lam believes.
Despite being 8-6 up at the break, the home side failed to score a second-half point against their closest rivals, as they were downed 8-20 to bring their five-match winning run to an end.
Louis Senior opened the scoring for the side, and a penalty goal from Adam Cook increased the lead to two scores. However, a quick tap from Jai Field allowed him to break through an unset Leigh defence just before half-time, and change the momentum of the game completely.
Shortly after the break, quick tries from Bevan French and Zach Eckersley put Wigan in front, before Noah Hodkinson sealed the win with a score just before the hour mark.
Wigan were far from their best on Friday, but their ability to ice those decisive moments is what set them apart from the Leopards this week.
Reflecting on the game, Leigh boss Lam said that those errors from his side, which Wigan then pounced on, were what cost his side the two points.
“[The result is] very, very tough to take, really,” he said to the press. “I’m not disappointed with the overall performance, I think there was just a couple of big moments there that we were in control of, and just poor skill put us under pressure, really.
“The one try before halftime [Jai Field] hurt us a little bit. I didn’t think we deserved that, the way we played and that changed the mindset in the dressing room a little bit.
“I tried to get them up for that second half, but it probably lagged on a little bit from there. Second half, I thought we were nowhere near the team that we have been.
“A couple of tries against the run of play got us, hurt us a lot, and I think it set everyone into a negative mindset. From that point on, we just weren’t connected and lost our way really.”
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Leigh Leopards “implode” against Wigan Warriors as boss addresses defeat
Leigh are usually a team that is very well connected, but six positional changes in the 17 and a number of key players dropping out saw a disjointed Leigh side take on the Warriors.
As mentioned, Field’s score against the run of play completely changed the game, and also changed Lam’s half-time message.
“My job at half-time is just to give them clarity and inspire them to go out in the second half,” he revealed. “If we win 8-6, that’ll be fine – I’ll be alright with that.
“What hurt us most was that it was our fault, wasn’t it? [referencing the Field breakaway try]. There was no individual skill or brilliance that did that, it was just a quick tap and go.
“Then the first try in the second half was the one that I thought broke our back a little bit, because it put them up against the run of play.
“The next one, the same. Then the next one, there was an error. Owen Trout’s pass to Ofahengaue, that gives Wigan the ball on the try line for a real soft try.
“…I haven’t seen us implode like that this season, and even though we’ve had so many changes and injuries, there hasn’t been a moment that we’ve done that.
“Maybe St Helens in round two, maybe that was the last time we did it, but you get that when it’s deflating. That happens, it doesn’t happen, but when it does, we just need to learn. Moving forward, we’ve got to react a little differently.”
Despite the defeat, collectively Lam can’t fault the side, it was more the execution and decision-making that his side will need to improve as they head into the final six games of the season.
He added: “I’m pleased with the team, and I said to them in the dressing room, we’re very close to being very, very good, so let’s not lose faith with that.
“I’ll address the poor skill by individuals, but overall, as a game, I thought that the boys were really good.”
