Leigh Leopards boss Adrian Lam expects to be without Ethan O’Neill on Thursday night when his side take on St Helens.
Leigh make the short journey to St Helens tomorrow as they look to build on their fine recent run and further establish themselves as contenders in the Super League play-offs. Wigan Warriors and Hull KR have both been put to the sword over the last fortnight and beating the Saints at the Totally Wicked Stadium would put them just one point off the top two for 48 hours at the very least.
Having Ethan O’Neill fit would certainly bolster the Leopards chances of doing that, with the second rower being one of the stars of Leigh’s season so far. However, he picked up a knee injury last time out and Lam admits he probably won’t risk him against Paul Wellens’ side.
“We’re going to err on the side of caution with Ethan,” Lam told the press on Wednesday afternoon. “He could potentially play but we’ll make the decision tomorrow morning.
“I’m leaning towards him not playing at the moment, that’s highly likely, so we’ll see how that unfolds in the next 24 hours.
“If Ethan is out we’ll bring in Andy Badrock, who’s a local junior, he’s played a handful of games for us this year and done a pretty good job. So if that is the case I’ll be pretty excited to watch him develop and take that opportunity.”
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Leigh are currently just a point and a place above St Helens at present with Wellens’ side climbing the league ladder on the back of five wins in a row. As such, it’s fair to say the game could be a pivotal one for both sides as they push to finish as high as possible up the table.
“They’re on a roll as well, they’ve played with changes, in and outs, there and they’ve done a pretty good job to get to where they are and they’ve snuck up into that top three/top four area unnoticed,” Lam added. “These are the games that are really important to both teams in regards to the ladder and how it could potentially finish up.”
He added: “The last two weeks have probably been our most impressive performances but I still think there’s two or three levels to go up. We’re working really hard on that and we’ll acknowledge what we need to get better at.
“We’re slowly growing in that area and I feel that we’ve got a forward pack that could potentially rival theirs and take that on head on.”
