Leigh Leopards match-winner Ben McNamara admitted to mixed feelings after ruining his dad’s Magic Weekend.
The half-back scored a try and five goals in Leigh Leopards’ 26-24 comeback win against Catalans Dragons – coached by his father Steve McNamara – at Newcastle’s St James’ Park.
“There’s quite a lot of emotion in the fixture for me because obviously I have supported him on his coaching journey, ever since he was starting at Bradford,” the Leigh man said afterwards.
“I almost feel a bit bad in some ways because I know what it means to him, but then I am really excited and happy for us.
“We are tight-knit as a group and it is massive to get momentum going into next week’s Challenge Cup semi-final [against Warrington].
“We can have a good week at training now, it’ll be high spirits and we’ll be buzzing going into the semi-final.”
Leigh Leopards Ben McNamara “ignored” his dad’s call ahead of Catalans clash
The stand-off revealed his dad rang him on the morning of the game but said: “I ignored it and didn’t call him back.
“It is a weird one. I think he probably wanted to chat a bit and calm his nerves, because usually we speak before we both play.
“But I felt different today about it. I played him three times when I was at Hull FC and he beat us three times.
“Now it’s two wins to me at Leigh. I wanted to keep it professional and feel like I was there to do a job, rather than feeling any sympathy for him.
“I did tell him I was playing, but didn’t tell him what position. The one thing he said to me was ‘I want to know if you’re playing or not’.”
“Both teams have put as much into that game as each other and we’ve come out with two points and some momentum. It was massive to get the win.”
Leopards coach Adrian Lam was “really happy for Ben”. He said. “He is working really hard to get into the team and I think he is building some confidence. He can play nine or seven and his goal kicking was the difference today.”
Steve McNamara was pleased for his son, if gutted by the result. “I knew he was going to play,” he said.
“It’s a really awkward situation, as a dad, I just wanted to know if he was playing – not any detail.
“I thought he did extremely well, he scored a try and kicked all the goals and in a game where you get beaten by two points, the penalty goal’s the important one.”
⏱️ 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 and Leopards will be heading back from Magic Weekend with the win! pic.twitter.com/cG6HA1c0nA
— Leigh Leopards (@LeighLeopardsRL) May 3, 2025
