Sky Sports pundit Jon Wilkin has not held back in his opinion on Leigh Leopards after their loss to Catalans Dragons, labelling it as ‘woeful performance’.
The Leopards lost 22-16 at home to Catalans in a game that pitted two teams coming off the back of three consecutive defeats. Much was made of the form of both sides heading into the game, with Wilkin arcing back to that post-match when he cast his gloomy verdict on the Leopards.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the Leopards’ loss, Wilkin said: “We spoke pre-game that both coaches would want character and effort from their sides. We saw that from one team here. We saw character from the Catalans Dragons side.
“They showed fight, desperation and just a way to find a chance to win this game. In all the big moments, they were competing harder than Leigh Leopards.”
He then went in with his criticism, stating: “Leigh can think they’re unlucky in some regards but I think that’s a woeful performance from Leigh. I think Adrian Lam will be disgusted with that performance in many ways.”
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Jon Wilkin explains where Leigh Leopards lost the game
Asked to justify that position given the fact Leigh lost by just six points and were without a host of first-team players, Wilkin claimed that the Leopards were outdone specifically in the key moments.
One such moment that he pointed to was Lewis Dodd’s try which made it 20-10. Young winger Leo Darrelatour, drafted in during the warm-up after a Tommy Makinson injury, pounced on a loose Lachlan Lam pass near the Catalans goal-line before racing 70 metres and eventually setting up Dodd’s crucial try.
Explaining why he was so disappointed in Leigh, Wilkin said: “I just think it was in every moment where there was a chance for Leigh to either put some pressure on, create points, or what summed this game up for me perfectly, which was the (Leo) Darrelatour break.
“(It came) off the Lachlan Lam error, where Leigh were in a position to go and score a try. They were at the wrong side of all of those little competitions within the game.
“Physically, I thought Catalans were better. I thought their kicking game was better. I thought they scrambled better. Their hunger and their appetite was better than Leigh Leopards. A disappointing night here.”
Adrian Lam was far less scathing of his side, simply noting that things were not clicking for them, a reaction that surprised Wilkin.
“Adrian was a lot softer than I thought he might have been with that performance,” Wilkin admitted after hearing Lam speak post-match on Sky Sports.
“I think it’s just disappointment with their execution but I think Jodie (Cunningham, co-pundit) is right. I don’t think there’s any panic right now with the injuries they’ve got to some key players.”
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