Leigh Leopards snatched a win against Warrington Wolves and Wire head coach Sam Burgess has had his say, praising his team in defeat.
Warrington looked set to land an upset win with Burgess’ side leading 14-2 at the 65 minute mark but they’d end up losing 20-16 with Owen Trout’s game winner coming in the 78th minute,
Midway in the second half, a disallowed Matt Dufty try was followed quickly by a controversial Umyla Hanley score which allowed Leigh to get back into it.
Even then, it wasn’t done with Marc Sneyd’s 1,043rd Super League goal extending the lead but two tries in the final five minutes saw Leigh snatch it with Warrington Wolves left absolutely broken after the loss.
It means they sit three points outside the play-off spots and with a tough fixture run that includes games against each of the top three, Hull KR, Wigan Warriors and Leigh Leopards again, then their chances look incredibly slim.
Sam Burgess will be well aware of that and he couldn’t hide his disappointment when speaking post match on Sky Sports, not only because of his side’s diminishing play-off hopes but also the nature of the defeat.
Warrington Wolves coach calls for ‘more of the same’ despite defeat
Having watched his side play so well for the large majority of the 80 minutes, Burgess was quick to change the line of questioning from ‘where it went wrong’ to explaining what went right.
“We’re not talking about where it went wrong, I thought it was a great performance and I thought that both teams were very good.
“They’re a very dangerous side and they threw a lot of shape at us in the last 15 to 20 minutes and we didn’t handle it the way we would have liked but they’re a great side.
“I thought the confidence was great and there was a lot of effort from our boys so they will be disappointed.”
Perhaps a sign of how strong Warrington were and even a suggestion that they were the better team for much of the game was the fact that Wolves forward Luke Yates was named as Sky Sports’ Man of the Match.
Yates spoke to the team’s attitude and when asked, Burgess agreed: “I think we all saw it, I’d agree with him. I thought he came in with a mission.
“He’s an inspirational guy who cares about the team and cares about the club. He’s a wonderful guy to coach and he played 80 minutes in another really intense game.”
Another forward who played long minutes was NRL loanee Ryan Matterson, another who Burgess showered in praise, stating: “He’s a great professional and he came prepared and was ready to play. He’ll only get better as we go on.”
Moving forward, Wire will likely have to win six or more of their seven games to make the top six and in a final message to his players, the Englishman stated his pride, adding: “That will hurt them a bit but we’ve got Wigan next Friday and get much more of the same hopefully.”
WHAT A FINISH 🙌
The Leopards come from behind to win 👏#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/1X4OdgB1AF
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) August 1, 2025
