Star player should have been sent off in Challenge Cup clash suggests Kevin Brown

Leigh Leopards moved a step closer to what would be a special return to Wembley Stadium in 2024 in the Challenge Cup with a win over former rivals Featherstone Rovers.

The two would repeatedly battle over the Championship title most recently in 2022 when the two were topped to be the sides set to battle it out for Super League promotion and three trophies but all three pieces of silverware went the way of the Leopards including an 1895 Cup Final win at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium ahead of the 2022 Challenge Cup Final.

A year later they were in the Challenge Cup Final themselves as they won in golden point against Hull KR thanks to a Lachlan Lam drop goal.

As the Leopards began the defence of the trophy in 2024, it was Lam who changed the game for his father’s side as the defeated Featherstone Rovers.

The Rovers had a clear plan as they had a very energetic defence flying out to shut down the Leigh offensive movement.

However, they were caught out for the opening try of the game when Umyla Hanley was given enough space to score in the corner.

But the Rovers stayed in the game and levelled matters with an excellent try from Manoa Wacokecoke who ran down the wing striding out of a tackle attempt from Josh Charnley and recovering from an attempt from Zak Hardaker to make it 4-4.

However, by the break the Leopards led 14-4 after Hanley completed a first half hat-trick thanks to some lovely passing especially from Jack Hughes.

But in the second half Wacokecoke would again go the length this time off an intercept to make it 14-10. But then Lam would make his return from injury. He would play a key role in creating space for Josh Charnley to score and make it 18-10 before he would link up with Matt Moylan to score the fifth try of the game.

Featherstone gave themselves hope when a great run by new signing Paul Turner led to a delightful try for Gareth Gale.

Before fulltime, Leigh wrapped up the game with a penalty which made it 26-14.

Star man should have been sent off in Challenge Cup says Brown

One big moment in the game was when Featherstone Rovers star McKenzie Yei was sin binned for a tip tackle.

The outstanding forward was lucky to avoid a red card in the view of Kevin Brown as a potential ban could loom ahead of the Rovers turning their attention back to the Championship after defeating Batley Bulldogs in Round One.

Brown said of the tackle on the Sportsman: “He’s lucky it’s not more than a yellow the way he lands on his head and shoulder. If you wanted a video example of a tip tackle that would be it.”