Leigh Leopards could have both starting centres Tesi Niu and Umyla Hanley available for Sunday’s Super League clash against Bradford Bulls, with Adrian Lam potentially set for a welcome selection headache.
Even if Hanley and Niu do not return this week, they’re expected to return later this month and that will be a major boost for a side that have suffered all year long with injury issues.
On the prospect of that headache, Leigh boss Lam said: “I’d love that issue but it looks like that may be the case so when that time comes I’ll just wait and see. We haven’t had that luxury yet this year.
“I think what we’ve learnt outside of those injuries is that we trust each other and we’ve got that belief of playing and players that may not have played have played a lot more time and minutes which have got them into some form, so we’re grateful.”
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Leigh Leopards centres set for return
That trust has seen players out of position such as Bailey Hodgson and Jack Hughes, who played in the centres last week, but with the prospect of Hanley and Niu returning this week then potentially that could change on Sunday.
When speaking about squad selection for Sunday’s game, for which the 21-man squad will be named at midday on Friday, Lam revealed: “Into consideration for this week’s 17, I think Umyla Hanley will come into play for that and so too will Tesi Niu.”
Having both back would be a major boost especially as Hanley was listed at three to four weeks only last week and despite being in training this week, they still may not play on Sunday given that Leigh play Hull KR next Friday, with Lam noting: “The danger with this week is after this Sunday game, we go into a short turnaround into a Friday game but we’ve just got to make some decisions on what’s the best interest for those players and the team so those two will come into consideration which is fantastic.
“Whether they play this week or the week after, that’ll be probably a conversation I’ll have with them on captain’s run on Saturday.”
Should they not play then Bailey Hodgson will start at centre but Lam is expecting a headache for who plays full-back in the coming weeks and months.
“Bailey Hodgson has been ever-present for us after missing so many weeks,” Lam said, adding: “Him back and Davey Armstrong back, it’ll be a tussle there who holds a full-back position as we progress into the second part of the season.”
Another man who could return soon is Ben McNamara following his recent thumb fracture.
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