Leigh Leopards Ben McNamara on making memories, Adrian Lam’s coaching tricks and playing wherever he’s needed

Leigh Leopards utility Ben McNamara put in a player of the match performance as his side beat Huddersfield Giants 28-24 on Thursday night, and is taking any opportunity to play in a team that has plenty of competition for places.

McNamara has been filling in at stand-off, whilst Gareth O’Brien recovers from HIA issues, but McNamara admitted that whilst it is his natural position, he’s happy to play wherever head coach Adrian Lam needs him.

Speaking to Sky Sports after their win over the Giants, he siad: “I was enjoying playing a bit of hooker before and now getting a chance in the halves, my natural position.

“It was just good to be out there. Gaz is a massive part of our team, but to step in and do that role to help the boys out, it’s a joy.

“I love playing for this team, and I love playing for this club, so it’s awesome.”

Leigh Leopards stand-off on Adrian Lam’s game philosophy and playing alongside childhood friend

The Leigh Leopards halfback thought that whilst it was a good performance, it wasn’t a complete one as he explained.

He added: “I think Adrian talked about playing well in eight ten-minute blocks and we were spot on for about six of them, apart from just before half-time and then before the end of the game.

“We let it slip a little bit, but we came off the back of three losses, and we just needed to get back to winning, so I’m glad we’ve done that.

“We were in control when we were down their end, and then, an intercept just swings the momentum massively and an unlucky kick at the end.

“I’m really proud of ourselves because we could’ve thrown it away in that last set, and we made a pact to ourselves that we wouldn’t stop moving, and we didn’t.”

McNamara reflected on the memories he’s making whilst being in the halves alongside Lachlan Lam, a player whom he’s known longer than most.

He said: “It’s amazing. I talk about it all the time, but we go back to being about 12 or 13 years old, playing in a park in Australia, so we’re making memories out there as well as doing a job for our team.”

Now Leigh Leopards get a week off due to the Challenge Cup final and are back in Super League action against Wakefield Trinity in a fortnight’s time, and McNamara shared the Leigh players’ plans for the week.

He finished: “Just a bit of relaxing to be honest. I’m not used to stringing this many games together, so I’ll put my feet up a bit and then we’ll be back in for some hard training in the next weeks. We need to keep building, so that will be the goal.”

🗣️ “𝗪𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗔 𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥”

Ben lifts the lid on an agreement the team made in the closing stages of last night’s game.

See his interview in full ➡️ https://t.co/5JEPOCGGeX

— Leigh Leopards (@LeighLeopardsRL) May 30, 2025