Leigh Leopards are without a host of stars and starters for their Super League clash against Catalans Dragons on Friday night and we’ve predicted how Adrian Lam could line his side up.
Both the Leopards and Dragons boast a record of one win and two losses and they’re also both coming off the back of a heavy defeat. For Leigh, last Thursday’s 54-0 loss to Wigan Warriors was among the worst of the Adrian Lam era but he faces a stiff task getting a bounce-back win given how many players are unavailable.
Speaking to media on Tuesday, Lam confirmed that the Leopards are without ten players in total with seven of those either starters or likely bench players. The loss to Wigan saw three more added to the casualty list with Bailey Hodgson (knee), Joe Ofahengaue (calf) and Matt Davis (HIA) all dropping out of the 21-man squad.
In fact, Leigh could only actually name a 20-man squad for Friday night’s game and it features two of their injured players in AJ Towse (calf) and Louis Brogan (knee), meaning Adrian Lam will have just 18 players to choose from. We’ve predicted how exactly he will line those players up with one of the biggest calls coming at full-back.
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Leigh Leopards predicted XIII to face Catalans Dragons
Full-back: Gareth O’Brien
With Bailey Hodgson out for at least eight weeks and David Armstrong not back for another four, Adrian Lam confirmed that the front-runners for the full-back role would be O’Brien and outside back Keanan Brand.
The latter has been deputising for Umyla Hanley at centre in the opening weeks and if Brand were to move to full-back then second-rowers Andy Badrock or Jack Hughes would be likely candidates in the centres. However, the experience that O’Brien offers at full-back is likely the tie-breaker.
Wingers: Innes Senior and Josh Charnley
It’s a relatively straightforward call on the wing with Senior and Charnley among the first choice starters anyway. Moreover, AJ Towse was among those that Adrian Lam namechecked as having a calf injury.
Centres: Keanan Brand and Tesi Niu
With Brand not moved to full-back, he’ll retain his spot in the centres in place of Umyla Hanley whilst Tesi Niu will feature alongside him.
Halves: Adam Cook and Lachlan Lam
Full-back and hooker injuries have hit Leigh but they have an abundance of halves including starters Adam Cook and Lachlan Lam, who will both have to be on it for a Leopards win on Friday night.
Hooker: Liam Horne
Horne played this role last week in Ipape’s absence and it’s likely he will do so for the next four weeks with his Papua New Guinean teammate recovering from a knee clean out.
Props: Robbie Mulhern and Owen Trout
With Joe Ofahengaue injured last weel and Aaron Pene still out, we’ll see Owen Trout move to the front-row for the entirety of the game in all likelihood alongside Robbie Mulhern.
Second-row: Frankie Halton and Andrew Badrock
Trout’s move to prop means an opportunity to start for one of Andy Badrock, Jack Hughes or Jacob Alick-Wiencke but we’ve picked the former of those to pair up with Frankie Halton.
Loose forward: Isaac Liu
Lam had previously spoken about experimenting with Edwin Ipape at loose forward but for now, starter Isaac Liu will retain the role.
Interchange: Ben McNamara, Jacob Alick-Wiencke, Jack Hughes and Ryan Brown
Ben McNamara was brought into the squad for this game and he’ll likely be the man who serves as the utility, spelling with Liam Horne but also offering covering in the halves.
Alongside him will be second-row pair Jacob Alick-Wiencke and Jack Hughes, though it could well be that one those two start over Andy Badrock.
There’s also then likely to be a Super League debut for 20-year-old Ryan Brown who had previously been sent to Barrow on loan but has been recalled.
Leigh Leopards 20-man squad: 2. Keanan Brand, 3. Tesi Niu, 5. Josh Charnley, 6. Adam Cook, 7. Lachlan Lam, 10. Robbie Mulhern, 11. Frankie Halton, 12. Owen Trout, 13. Isaac Liu, 15. Jacob Alick-Wiencke, 17. Liam Horne, 19. Innes Senior, 20. AJ Towse, 21, Gareth O’Brien, 22. Jack Hughes, 23, Andrew Badrock, 24. Ben McNamara, 25. Louis Brogan, 28. Ryan Brown, 29. Will Brough
