Leigh Leopards have had some awful luck with injuries this season and that’s led to head coach Adrian Lam confirming that the club may have to look at the loan market once again.
Just minutes into their season opener against Huddersfield Giants, Leigh saw star hooker Edwin Ipape leave the field with the Papua New Guinea international still sidelined following that blow.
That led to the Leoaprds heading straight to the loan market where they acquired Brad Dwyer from Warrington with Dwyer buried at the bottom of the depth chart behind Danny Walker and Sam Powell.
Dwyer has been impressive during his time at the Leigh Sports Village so far but Ipape hasn’t been the only injury that has befallen Adrian Lam’s side with captain John Asiata and prop Tom Amone also going down with long-term injuries.
All three of those injured were Super League Dream Team members in 2023 whilst another injured star is Tom Briscoe who was a certain starter for the club.
It has led to youth being promoted with Dan Norman impressing in the pack and Umyla Hanley in incredible form whilst deputising on the wing, but it’s certainly stretching the Leopard’s squad with Lam admitting that should the injury crisis worsen, then they will have to look at the loan market.
Speaking ahead of the club’s game with Salford Red Devils, Lam told Leigh Leopards’ YouTube channel: “Yeah, we may have to do that if anything happens further from this point moving forward but we’re OK at the moment.
“I’ve got some players out on loan too that we can bring back, this being the last week for them getting them back in time for the Challenge Cup.”
“We’re doing it tough” – Injuries creating opportunities for Leigh Leopards
Credit: Imago Images
There have also been several other injuries for the Leopards with Gareth O’Brien missing time this season as well as star player Lachlan Lam but the current concern is for forward Robbie Mulhern who Lam has described as “50/50” for tonight’s clash.
There is a return for centre Ricky Leutele though which is a welcome boost, particularly after the scary injury late last year that saw Leutele have his spine assessed.
Lam explained that the current injury situation simply breeds stronger connections among the players whilst also providing opportunities to others, noting: “As a club with that, we’re doing it tough but that’s okay. It’s another challenge that we face as a group and as long as we stick together the vibe is still positive within the group.
“We understand that we can fix this with what we have and it gives players an opportunity to get experience where they may not have otherwise.”
A win tonight in the Battle of the Borough would be huge and could kickstart the club’s season after a faltering start has seen them with a record of just one win from five in Super League.
Leigh Leopards have named their 21-man squad for tonight which can be seen below.
1 – Gareth O’Brien
3 – Zak Hardaker
4 – Ricky Leutele
5 – Josh Charnley
6 – Matt Moylan
7 – Lachlan Lam
10 – Robbie Mulhern
11 – Kai O’Donnell
12 – Jack Hughes
14 – Dan Norman
15 – Matt Davis
16 – Frankie Halton
17 – Owen Trout
18 – Ben Nakubuwai
19 – Ed Chamberlain
21 – Ben McNamara
24 – Umyla Hanley
25 – Tom Nisebt
29 – Lewis Baxter
31 – Jack Darbyshire
33 – Brad Dwye
