Leigh Leopards hosted Wakefield Trinity in Round Six of Super League and here’s our verdict on the encounter.
The 5,001st game of Super League was won 40-14 by Wakefield Trinity who saw their England international duo of Tom Johnstone and Mike McMeeken both score braces in a dominant performance that earned them a third away win this season.
It marked the second game in a row where Leigh conceded over 30 points which will be of major concern for Adrian Lam, particularly given that was the basis of his side’s historic win over Wigan in Round One,
Leigh’s hopes were dented pre-match when the squads were announced as any hope of stars Robbie Mulhern and Josh Charnley returning were dashed with the pair not named in the 21-man squad, whilst eyebrows were also raised when hooker Edwin Ipape was only named on the bench.
As for Wakefield Trinity, they’d made three changes as Daryl Powell looked to get his team back in the winner’s enclosure following their Round Five defeat to Hull FC.
An intriguing layer to the game was the fact that Leigh travel to Wakefield next week as the sides meet in the Challenge Cup with the Leopards looking to reclaim their crown from 2023. Here’s our verdict on how their Super League battle played out.
Leigh Leopards ship seven tries as Wakefield run riot
Wakefield thought they went ahead through Caleb Hamlin-Uele but Marcus Griffiths’ on-field ‘No Try’ call meant that video referee Chris Kendall could not overturn the decision, however, just two plays later Oliver Russell got over after a smart Mike McMeeken offload to give Wakefield a 6-0 lead after ten minutes.
Minutes later and McMeeken was the one crossing over as Wakefield capitalised on another Leigh error inside the Leopards territory giving Adrian Lam’s side a nightmare start.
Leigh did hit back quickly though as Umyla Hanley scored his seventh of the season but they punished themselves immediately by giving away a penalty and then wasting a captain’s challenge on it
The introduction of Edwin Ipape got the Leopards firing and it was no surprise that Leigh adding another minutes later, this time through Keanan Brand. Ethan O’Neill thought he’d scored minutes later but knocked on over the line thanks to great defence from Josh Griffin.
Wakefield would extend their lead before the half as Mike McMeeken’s scoop score was given after a lengthy video review and they’d then further that after 15 minutes in the second-half. With Leigh finally building pressure, Tom Johnstone intercepted to go the distance and make it 24-10.
Liam Hood then darted over to make it 30-10 but Frankie Halton, on his return from a four-match absence, scored immediately after with Leigh collecting a short kick-off. Any hopes of a comeback were dented when Tom Johnstone scored yet another intercept try to make it 36-14. Adding insult to injury was Oliver Russell’s score in the 80th minute to take Trinity past the 40-point mark.
Good day for
Daryl Powell’s side are still yet to win at home but if they keep winning away then the points will keep adding up as Trinity continue to defy expectations.
Bad day for
It was a frustrating night for David Armstrong who has shown us glimpses of how special he can be, however, tonight was not the night with the former Newcastle man bottled up by Wakefield.
Star man
We all watched Herman Ese’ese put his bid in to be the star prop in Super League last night but Mike McMeeken staked his case tonight. The Wakefield captain bagged two tries and was destructive all night. On this form, he’s sure to feature in the Ashes series.
Bigger picture
The video referee process needs to be sorted out and this game was evidence of that, particularly in respect to the on-field ‘Try’ or ‘No Try’ call. Wakefield saw one try ruled out and one given purely because the video referee didn’t have evidence to overturn the on-field decision. Put the power in the video referee’s hands when on-field officials are uncertain. Simple.
Teams
Leigh Leopards XIII: David Armstrong, Bailey Hodgson, Tesi Niu, Umyla Hanley, Keanan Brand, Gareth O’Brien, Lachlan Lam, Owen Trout, Brad Dwyer, Jack Hughes, Frankie Halton, Ethan O’Neill, Isaac Liu
Interchanges: Louis Brogan Alec Tuitavake, Matt Davis, Edwin Ipape
Wakefield Trinity XIII: Josh Rourke, Matty Russell, Cameron Scott, Oliver Pratt, Tom Johnstone, Mason Lino, Oliver Russell, Mike McMeeken, Liam Hood, Caleb Hamlin-Uele, Josh Griffin, Isaiah Vagana, Jay Pitts
Interchanges: Ky Rodwell, Mathieu Cozza, Harvey Smith, Caius Faatili
The sides are locked in 🔒
The Leopards face Trinity on SuperLeague+ and SkySports+ 📺#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/sZwFiylnPV
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) March 28, 2025
