ST HELENS 4 LEIGH LEOPARDS 16
DAVE PARKINSON, Totally Wicked Stadium, Thursday
LEIGH kept up the pressure on the top two with their first win at St Helens for more than 40 years.
Brilliant defence and two tries from Joe Ofahengaue ended a run of 14 away defeats stretching back to a 19-10 Slalom Lager Championship victory at Knowsley Road in 1982.
It was a tryless first half at the Totally Wicked Stadium and the tackling masterclass continued well into the second half as Leigh added Saints to the scalps of Wigan and Hull KR in the previous two weeks.
The early stages were largely played between the two 20-metre lines with completions high and video referee Jack Smith called into action a couple of times.
Saints came up with the first lively play when Tristan Sailor, Alex Walmsley and Jake Wingfield combined over 20 metres. A Jonny Lomax kick proved too long but Leigh made the first handling error on the next set and a penalty then saw Saints turn up the heat on the Leopards. Frankie Halton fielded a crossfield kick from Moses Mbye but Leigh were struggling to get out of yardage and Saints roared back at them.
Twelve minutes in Gareth O’Brien put his long kick straight in touch and Saints cut forward. A threaded kick through from Sailor saw Owen Dagnall chase on, although the young winger was unable to ground a minute later.
At the other end, an attacking kick went up in the air, and Ofahengaue saw his effort disallowed due to an earlier offside in the play. The strong start from Walmsley continued and he won a penalty for his side as Saints roared forward again, forcing a drop-out.
The defensive nature of the first 20 minutes continued and when Saints gave away two penalties, Leigh opted to kick at goal on the second after interference on Umyla Hanley at a play-the-ball. O’Brien kicked from 35 metres to hand the Leopards a 0-2 advantage.
Keanan Brand left the field for an HIA in the 23rd minute and Mbye followed him thanks to some friendly fire from Curtis Sironen, with neither player returning.
With 13 minutes of the first half remaining Edwin Ipape put a kick behind the line after a solid charge from Josh Charnley, and Ofahengaue forced a drop out.
Saints again threatened the Leigh line but they held out and forced a drop-out at the other end when a superb high kick from Lachlan Lam bamboozled Kyle Feldt and Tesi Niu trapped Sailor behind his own line. Saints sent the drop-out over the touchline on the full and O’Brien tagged on the penalty-goal from in front of the posts to send the Leopards to the break with a 0-4 advantage.
The fierce nature of the game continued in the second half with Leigh just holding on in the first ten minutes as Saints dominated field position, Walmsley still leading his pack impressively.
Saints lost their captain’s challenge after 57 minutes when Lomax knocked-on, and Leigh battled over the halfway line before being awarded a penalty. Leigh moved within range before claiming the first try of the game when O’Brien tipped the ball to his left and Ofahengaue went under the posts. O’Brien’s third goal nudged the Leopards to a 0-10 lead.
A tricky kick from Mbye saw Charnley lose the ball in his own line. George Whitby’s kick was handed infield from Feldt but the defence swarmed on Harry Robertson.
Into the last ten minutes St Helens pushed forward with Walmsley and Morgan Knowles at the hub of the attack, only for Andy Badrock to wrap up Matt Whitley.
Ipape split the defence at the other end, but tacklers converged on Lam. And just as the hosts looked like they were going on the outside, Niu tackled Robertson into touch.
With just over two minutes remaining, a high kick from Lam was spilled by Feldt with Offahengaue picking up the pieces to go over for his second try.
Saints did score from a neat scrum play down the right, Robertson going in from Sailor’s pass, but Leigh were worthy winners.
GAMESTAR: Joe Ofahengaue’s two tries and leadership in the middle were crucial for Leigh, while a special mention is due for Alex Walmsley too, brilliant in the middle for Saints.
GAMEBREAKER: Ofahengaue’s second try ensured victory.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: Joe Ofahengaue’s first try, from a superb inside pass by Gareth O’Brien.
ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Joe Ofahengaue (Leigh)
2 pts Alex Walmsley (St Helens)
1 pt Tesi Niu (Leigh)
MATCHFACTS
SAINTS
6 Tristan Sailor
2 Kyle Feldt
26 Harry Robertson
16 Matt Whitley
30 Owen Dagnall
7 Jonny Lomax
14 Moses Mbye
8 Alex Walmsley
18 Jake Wingfield
19 George Delaney
11 Curtis Sironen
10 Matty Lees
13 Morgan Knowles
Subs
5 Josh Bennison (not used)
17 Agnatius Paasi
27 George Whitby
31 Leon Cowen (D)
18th man (not used)
34 Jake Davies
Also in 20-man squad
15 James Bell
4 Mark Percival
Tries: Robertson (79)
Goals: Feldt 0/1
LEOPARDS
24 Bailey Hodgson
18 Keanan Brand
3 Tesi Niu
4 Umyla Hanley
5 Josh Charnley
6 Gareth O’Brien
7 Lachlan Lam
8 Owen Trout
9 Edwin Ipape
32 Joe Ofahengaue
11 Frankie Halton
12 Jack Hughes
13 Isaac Liu
Subs (all used)
15 Alec Tuitavake
16 Matt Davis
21 Andy Badrock
22 Ben McNamara
18th man (not used)
17 Brad Dwyer
Also in 21-man squad
2 Darnell McIntosh
10 Robbie Mulhern
19 Louis Brogan
Tries: Ofahengaue (61, 77)
Goals: O’Brien 4/5
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-2, 0-4; 0-10, 0-16, 4-16
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Saints: Alex Walmsley; Leopards: Joe Ofahengaue
Penalty count: 5-7
Half-time: 0-4
Referee: Chris Kendall
Attendance: 11,805