Fri 22nd Sept: SL: Leigh Leopards v Wigan Warriors KO 20:00 (Sky)

[John Drake]

Discuss Leigh Leopards v Wigan Warriors here.

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

Leigh by 6 - don't forget this is about bragging rights in Wigan MD which might put a bit of mustard on the Leopards' tails.

[Thunder Road]

Head says wigan and heart prays for Leigh.Met Lachlam Lam this week at the LSV and looked very buoyant as was Kai 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[phiggins]

Very difficult to see beyond a Wigan win, and a comfortable one at that. Leigh's season feels like it's done now, which while is disappointing, am also fine with. We've won the one trophy we realistically had a chance of winning.

The two previous games against Wigan have shown they have a far stronger bench, and pace that we struggle to defend against. Add to that, the fact that the centres will be Chamberlain + Gildart vs Wardle + King, makes a Leigh win very unlikely.

[Exiled Wiganer]

Leigh have a terrific team, and will have fervent support. Motivation will play a part, and I think Wigan’s goal of winning to make sure we get a week off will be more of a spur than Leigh’s home/away play off game. If we keep 13 men on the field, and avoid nasty injuries, I think we will have enough. 

[Snowys Backside]

Rugby League will be the winner.

Intense, fierce local Derby, and like the Saints game, Leigh will want to compete and get stuck in.

A lot depends if Asiata plays and as already stated, our Centres are not good enough.

If Wigan play to their potential, I can see nothing but a Wigan win by 12+ but if they get nervous and Leigh get under their skin, who knows.

Lachlan Lam has been silent in the first two games v Wigan. He needs to wake up in this one for sure !!

We have had a fantastic season, but i think we will see the hubcap and overall SL champs at the LSV on Friday Night.

HKR are a good outside bet and I for one don't fancy playing them home or away !

[phiggins]

14 minutes ago, Snowys Backside said:

Rugby League will be the winner.

Intense, fierce local Derby, and like the Saints game, Leigh will want to compete and get stuck in.

A lot depends if Asiata plays and as already stated, our Centres are not good enough.

If Wigan play to their potential, I can see nothing but a Wigan win by 12+ but if they get nervous and Leigh get under their skin, who knows.

Lachlan Lam has been silent in the first two games v Wigan. He needs to wake up in this one for sure !!

We have had a fantastic season, but i think we will see the hubcap and overall SL champs at the LSV on Friday Night.

HKR are a good outside bet and I for one don't fancy playing them home or away !

If Asiata is out, we can't be messing around with Davis at 13 and Reynolds at 6. Would need to get Mellor onto the pitch, as he is, imo, a far better playmaker than both of those two. Whether that's Mellor at 9 and Ipape at 13, or Mellor at 6 and Reynolds at 13, not really fussed. But Davis can't come in as a straight swap for Asiata, he's nowhere near that level, as last week showed.

[Snowys Backside]

2 hours ago, phiggins said:

If Asiata is out, we can't be messing around with Davis at 13 and Reynolds at 6. Would need to get Mellor onto the pitch, as he is, imo, a far better playmaker than both of those two. Whether that's Mellor at 9 and Ipape at 13, or Mellor at 6 and Reynolds at 13, not really fussed. But Davis can't come in as a straight swap for Asiata, he's nowhere near that level, as last week showed.

Always liked Ipape at 13. Wouldn’t mind him at 6 with Mellor 9, but I have a feeling John will be playing Friday. 

[HawkMan]

Is this the only game on Sky? Don't they have the rights to two games per round? Last day in the EPL Sky show more than one simultaneously played game, why not here too?

[Snowys Backside]

10 minutes ago, HawkMan said:

Is this the only game on Sky? Don't they have the rights to two games per round? Last day in the EPL Sky show more than one simultaneously played game, why not here too?

Fear of the thought of cloning Wilkin and the two Tezez

[Harry Stottle]

6 hours ago, phiggins said:

Very difficult to see beyond a Wigan win, and a comfortable one at that. Leigh's season feels like it's done now, which while is disappointing, am also fine with. We've won the one trophy we realistically had a chance of winning.

The two previous games against Wigan have shown they have a far stronger bench, and pace that we struggle to defend against. Add to that, the fact that the centres will be Chamberlain + Gildart vs Wardle + King, makes a Leigh win very unlikely.

Chamberlain not good enough for a SL centre, championship is his level, and more than happy that Gildart is of to the far east at the end of this term, and it also makes our right hand combo of centre/second row doubly frail if the passive Hughes plays.

Edited September 21, 2023 by Harry Stottle

[sam4731]

18 minutes ago, HawkMan said:

Is this the only game on Sky? Don't they have the rights to two games per round? Last day in the EPL Sky show more than one simultaneously played game, why not here too?

Laziness?

[Harry Stottle]

5 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

Laziness?

Number of expected viewers? 

Most of the SL team followers will be at the games.

[phiggins]

3 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Chamberlain not good enough for a SL centre, championship is his level, and more than happy that Gildart is of to the far east at the end of this term, and it also makes our right hand combo of centre/second row doubly frail if the passive Hughes plays.

To be fair to chamberlain, he’s put some decent defensive displays in, particularly in the cup semi final and final, on the left centre. But have no idea why Holmes didn’t go straight back to the right edge in Hughes’ place after O’Donnell’s ban finished. The other thing with both Gildart and Briscoe in our back line is we struggle when trying to get away from our line.

Will be very interesting to see how it goes for Hull KR next season if they do play Gildart at left centre, replacing SKD, who I’d probably pick in this season’s Dream Team. 

 

[Leyther_Matt]

Wigan mate reckons they will struggle down the middle, but I don’t know if he’s just getting in his excuses early. First home game of the season for me, should be a humdinger based on the away games I’ve been to this season, never mind the circumstances surrounding tonight. 

[Exiled Wiganer]

I do wonder about Leigh’s thinking going into tonight. Next week is going to far more important for them, so I would have thought they would rest any borderline injury doubts, and look to get through unscathed. I know it’s a derby and there is a home semi on offer, but lose next week and it’s over for them. 

[phiggins]

3 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

I do wonder about Leigh’s thinking going into tonight. Next week is going to far more important for them, so I would have thought they would rest any borderline injury doubts, and look to get through unscathed. I know it’s a derby and there is a home semi on offer, but lose next week and it’s over for them. 

There are 2 that are borderline apparently, Asiata and Halton. Asiata has missed the last 2 weeks, so if he is fit, it would be beneficial to play tonight as going into the play offs after 3 weeks off isn't ideal. 

What will give an idea of Lam's thinking is how many minutes Amone, Mulhern and to a lesser extent, Ipape play.

 

[17 stone giant]

22 hours ago, Snowys Backside said:

Rugby League will be the winner.

Intense, fierce local Derby, and like the Saints game, Leigh will want to compete and get stuck in.

Hopefully that is the case. I intend to watch this match and save the Lionesses football against Scotland until later. However, if it's clear early on from the scoreline, players picked, and way the match is going that Leigh aren't quite at it today, I'll probably abandon this game and go to the football early.

I suppose this is an example of where the 'good of the game' and self interest are partly in conflict. For the good of the game, Leigh will pick their strongest team and give everything to win, but for the good of Leigh, perhaps that's not the best option.

[bobbruce]

13 minutes ago, 17 stone giant said:

Hopefully that is the case. I intend to watch this match and save the Lionesses football against Scotland until later. However, if it's clear early on from the scoreline, players picked, and way the match is going that Leigh aren't quite at it today, I'll probably abandon this game and go to the football early.

I suppose this is an example of where the 'good of the game' and self interest are partly in conflict. For the good of the game, Leigh will pick their strongest team and give everything to win, but for the good of Leigh, perhaps that's not the best option.

That will depend on how Hull KR are doing. As it’s still possible Leigh will finish outside the top 4 if they don’t win. Meaning instead of being at home in the first round they would be away. 

[17 stone giant]

10 minutes ago, bobbruce said:

That will depend on how Hull KR are doing. As it’s still possible Leigh will finish outside the top 4 if they don’t win. Meaning instead of being at home in the first round they would be away. 

Yes, I understand that. When I looked at the fixtures I thought it likely that Hull KR will win at relegated Wakefield, but I wasn't sure even with that likelihood that Leigh would definitely prioritise trying to get 4th ahead of trying to avoid injury, resting players, and accepting being away next round.

[RoyBoy295]

Rain for tonight, so errors could decide the result.

 

A Leigh win please

[Snowys Backside]

33 minutes ago, RoyBoy295 said:

Rain for tonight, so errors could decide the result.

 

A Leigh win please

Good job it isn't at Odsal or the away end at Headingley

[Just Browny]

21 hours ago, HawkMan said:

Is this the only game on Sky? Don't they have the rights to two games per round? Last day in the EPL Sky show more than one simultaneously played game, why not here too?

I like your spirit, but there's literally no advantage in this for Sky. Spending twice as much money to split your audience in two.

[EagleEyePie]

Really looking forward to this game and seeing how the Catalans and Saints games go. I know it's not the biggest prize but 3 teams fighting for top spot and maybe 1st place changing hands a few times generates a bit of excitement when watching any sport.

It's a strange situation because Wigan are favourites due to points difference and the fact that the top 3 are all favourites to win their game, but we're also by far the more likely to lose considering the opposition we face away from home. The fact we've beaten Leigh comfortably in the previous 2 games counts for very little in my opinion.

Worst case scenario would probably be an easy win, as I don't think the week off helps us and not having a tough game prior just makes things worse. It certainly didn't help last year when we had reasonable form at the end of the season, battered a weak Catalans side only to struggle to throw anything (except Bateman's shoulder) at Leeds in the semi final.

I think the best outcome is a hard fought win where we have to rely on good game management. I still think our style of play can make us a big vulnerable when the sensible choice is to play it simple but there have been some positive signs in that area in recent weeks.

A loss would be frustrating but maybe a late reality check wouldn't be the worst thing after some fairly comfortable victories in the last 4 games (in fact 6 of the last 7 have been fairly comfortable).

 

[Man of Kent]

Somebody call the police. Phil Clarke has stolen my grandad’s clothes.