WARRINGTON WOLVES 12 LEIGH LEOPARDS 20
KASEY SMITH, Halliwell Jones Stadium, Saturday
THREE late tries gave Leigh the win in a competitive run-out against Warrington, who celebrated Toby King’s testimonial.
There was little to separate the two when they had their full-strength sides on the field, but as the game wore on, the Leopards were able to expose gaps in the youthful Wolves defence as Sam Burgess made full use of his 13-strong substitute bench.
The Warrington head coach felt his side showed their qualities in flashes, but were not consistent enough.
“We were scrappy in parts, we played some good stuff and then some average stuff,” he said after the game.
“We probably need another run-out… it wasn’t a fantastic game and nobody really stood out for me.”
Most impressive for Warrington was their goal-line defence as they managed to keep Leigh at bay for large periods, even while conceding six-agains.
Leigh had five debutants in the side and, when their attacks clicked, they looked a dangerous proposition.
Tesi Niu, the 23-year-old formerly of NRL side Dolphins, produced a number of strong carries and Bailey Hodgson, the Hull-born winger signed from Manly, looked lively on the left edge.
And it was Hodgson who opened the scoring for Leigh, inside the opening minutes of the game, when he ducked and dived his way over to score in the corner as the Leopards capitalised on Warrington being offside moments earlier.
Matters could have been made worse, not long after, when an incorrect play-the-ball gave Leigh a full set of six deep in the Warrington half. Wire made it difficult for themselves, conceding a six-again in the same phase of play, but their goal-line defence and alertness off the line prevented Leigh from scoring.
The momentum shifted after Leigh were penalised for a late hit. George Williams played in Matty Ashton to dive over in the corner, levelling the scores after Oli Leyland converted.
King, on his big day, showed his class when he timed a perfect pass for Jake Thewlis to edge the Wolves in front in the second half.
But the Wolves’ discipline got the better of them and, after conceding back-to-back penalties, as well as a six-again, there was only going to be one conclusion.
The equaliser came through Andy Badrock who brushed away three tired Warrington defenders to force his way over to score.
Head coach Lachlan Lam paid tribute to the second-rower, as well as the club’s academy, after the game.
“Badrock, Halton and Brogan all played well tonight,” said Lam.
“Our plan is to make sure more of these players are coming through our system. We’ve got a pathway now, which is something we haven’t had in the past and it just shows we’re heading in the right direction as a club.”
Late on, there was time for two more for Leigh, the first coming through Keanan Brand and the last through Nathan Wilde after hooker Matt Davis caught the Warrington defenders off guard to wrap up the win.
GAMESTAR: Luke Yates was impressive with his relentless tackling to keep Leigh at bay for large parts of the game.
GAMEBREAKER: Matt Davis’ run out of dummy-half exposed a half-asleep Warrington defence and ensured the Leigh victory.
MATCHFACTS
WOLVES
1 Matt Dufty
31 Alfie Johnson
4 Rodrick Tai
3 Toby King
5 Matty Ashton
6 George Williams
18 Oli Leyland
10 Paul Vaughan
9 Danny Walker
13 Luke Yates
21 Adam Holroyd
26 Dan Russell
11 Ben Currie
Subs (all used)
15 Joe Philbin
16 Zane Musgrove
17 Jordy Crowther
22 Tom Whitehead
23 Cai Taylor-Wray
24 Max Wood
25 Lucas Green
27 Luke Thomas
28 Jake Thewlis
29 Zac Bardsley-Rowe
32 Nolan Tupaea
34 Ben Hartill
35 Joe Hickey
Tries: Ashton (14), Jake Thewlis (28)
Goals: Leyland 2/2
LEOPARDS
1 David Armstong
18 Keanan Brand
3 Tesi Niu
4 Umyla Hanley
24 Bailey Hodgson
6 Gareth O’Brien
7 Lachlan Lam
8 Owen Trout
16 Matt Davis
14 Aaron Pene
11 Frankie Halton
20 Ethan O’Neill
13 Isaac Liu
Subs (all used)
12 Jack Hughes
15 Alec Tuitavake
26 Kavan Rothwell
17 Brad Dwyer
27 Jack Darbyshire
19 Louis Brogan
28 Brad Martin
21 Andy Badrock
22 Ben McNamara
23 Nathan Wilde
31 Will Brough
29 AJ Towse
30 Ryan Brown
Tries: Hodgson (4), Badrock (67), Brand (72), Widle (76)
Goals: O’Brien 1/1, McNamara 1/3
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 6-6; 12-6, 12-10, 12-14, 12-20
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Wolves: Oli Leyland; Leopards: Tesi Niu
Penalty count: 3-5
Half-time: 6-6
Referee: Marcus Griffiths
Attendance: 6,984