Leigh Leopards may have taken a ‘backwards step’ in the eyes of their head coach but they’ve picked up another crucial two points in the race for the Super League play-offs.
The Leopards recorded a ninth win in eleven games as they won 24-18 at home against Castleford in a very hard-fought win, with Leigh now level on points with St Helens in sixth.
Castleford can perhaps count themselves unlucky based on some of the decisions that went against them, with head coach Ryan Carr fuming post-match about several decisions, and Adrian Lam was perhaps aware that his side got away with one.
“At the end of the day we’ve got the two points, so we’ll take that,” Lam assessed when speaking post-match on Sky Sports.
“It’s not the prettiest game to watch or coach, obviously there’s too many stop starts and too many penalties and everything else, but I love rugby league on an afternoon, on a Saturday or Sunday, when the sun’s out, it feels like it’s meant to be, so nice that we’ve got the result and progressing that well.”
He also explained how the late pull-outs of Bailey Hodgson (illness) and Frankie Halton (hamstring) impacted his side, offering assurance that the duo will return for next week’s game against Hull FC.
Lam explained: “It was just a last-minute call. It certainly upsets the rhythm of the team and it’s been a difficult week to train with no-one training, so we had to change that up slightly.
“I think 11 players are not available today to select from, so it makes it difficult.”
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Leigh Leopards boss reminds players of need to be confident in top six chase
With the top six now at their mercy, Lam pointed to the fact that Leigh will play six of their final nine games at home as something that will prove pivotal if they’re to overcome their injury issues and make the play-offs.
“We need to be confident,” he asserted, adding: “We’ve done it tough for the majority of the season, and again today without those big front-row middles. We’re away next week at the Hull FC, and that’s going to be a real difficult challenge for us, and then we’re back home.
“I think there’s a lot of home games for us. You’re right, it is in our hands, and we need to win at home. We’ve got a lot of work to do after that, but certainly a positive outcome for us in the end.”
Offering an honest assessment, he added:”I wanted to come here today in the sun and watch the team after last week’s performance and enjoy the progression, but with so many changes, we’ve certainly went backwards a step, but I understand why.
“I’m sure the fans and everyone else understands why, but we’ve just got to take these wins when we can, as we did at the start of the season, and just be in good shape when we get to the end there.
“There’s no Tesi Niu for the rest of the season, it seems, so it’s just about making sure that we stay together and get through the difficult times.”
