LEIGH LEOPARDS 26 WAKEFIELD TRINITY 10
KASEY SMITH, Progress With Unity Stadium, Friday

LEIGH powered into the Super League semi-finals for the second year running with a commanding victory over Wakefield.

The Leopards delivered an almost flawless performance, smothering a struggling Trinity side that rarely threatened in the final third. Leigh’s commanding 18-0 half-time lead proved insurmountable for a Wakefield team starved of possession.

Daryl Powell’s Wakefield side have enjoyed a remarkable return to Super League, reaching the play-offs for the first time since 2012, but the Leopards shut them down ruthlessly to bring their 2025 campaign to an end.

Credit must go to Trinity, who defended their line with tremendous determination, but they simply couldn’t withstand the waves of Leopards attacks.

They fought back after the break, snatching a score, yet too many errors in attacking positions prevented them from inflicting enough damage against this formidable Leigh side.

A measure of the Leopards’ dominance was that Wakefield were forced into a change as early as the fifth minute, while Adrian Lam didn’t make his first substitution until the 33rd. Matters worsened for Wakefield in the second half when they lost Liam Hood, who failed a head-injury assessment, making their task even more difficult.

The Leopards asserted themselves from the outset, driving forward with relentless line speed and powerful ball carries. With the explosive Edwin Ipape dictating play from dummy-half and the mercurial Lachlan Lam adding his spark, Leigh had the perfect blend to propel themselves to within 80 minutes of a Super League Grand Final appearance.

Leigh broke through in the 11th minute after a slick move, sparked by Gareth O’Brien and Bailey Hodgson, unleashed Keanan Brand who scored in the corner.

Trinity found no escape as Leigh’s fierce forward pack smothered them, seizing complete control of the game.

Ipape and Lam tore gaps in the Trinity defence, setting up Umyla Hanley to break through, only for some desperate scrambling to deny him. But Wakefield’s resistance was short-lived – seconds later, Isaac Liu burst through to double the advantage.

Adding to Wakefield’s woes, Lam produced a pinpoint 40/20 that kept pressure mounting. And Leigh quickly capitalised when an Ipape grubber ricocheted off a Trinity boot and bounced kindly into Lam’s hands, allowing him to send Josh Charnley racing over for their third.

Though Trinity were not ready to surrender. Leopards opened a window, conceding a penalty, and Trinity seized it shortly after the break. Remarkably, it was prop Mike McMeeken who pinged a pass out to Jayden Myers, who expertly finished in the corner.

Shortly after, O’Brien replied, slotting a two-pointer from the kicking tee when Wakefield were penalised for an obstruction, adding to Leigh’s score.

And Leigh delivered a major blow, on 62 minutes, when Joe Ofahengaue played in the onrushing Alex Tuitavake who powered through to put the game to bed.

Cameron Scott restored pride for Wakefield late on when he darted through a massive gap to reduce Leigh’s advantage but it mattered not, with the Leopards having secured an away clash against neighbours Wigan in the semis.

GAMESTAR: Edwin Ipape was deadly from the nine position and Trinity could not deal with him.

GAMEBREAKER: Joe Ofahengaue’s crash-over try under the posts sealed the game, extinguishing any thoughts of a comeback.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: Wakefield’s first try was a class move, with Mike McMeeken turning playmaker to set up Jayden Myers, who finished acrobatically in the corner.

MATCHFACTS
LEOPARDS
24 Bailey Hodgson
18 Keenan Brand
3 Tesi Niu
4 Umyla Hanley
5 Josh Charnley
6 Gareth O’Brien
7 Lachlan Lam
32 Joe Ofahengaue
9 Edwin Ipape
10 Robbie Mulhern
11 Frankie Halton
8 Owen Trout
13 Isaac Liu
Subs (all used)
12 Jack Hughes
15 Alex Tuitavake
16 Matt Davis
17 Brad Dwyer
18th man (not used)
20 Ethan O’Neill
Also in 21-man squad
14 Aaron Pene
21 Andy Badrock
22 Ben McNamara

Tries: Brand (11), Liu (24), Charnley (28), Tuitavake (62)
Goals: O’Brien 5/5

TRINITY
23 Josh Rourke
30 Jayden Myers
3 Cameron Scott
19 Oliver Pratt
5 Tom Johnstone
6 Jake Trueman
20 Mason Lino
8 Mike McMeeken
9 Liam Hood
31 Caius Faatili
12 Josh Griffin
17 Matty Storton
13 Jay Pitts
Subs (all used)
10 Ky Rodwell
11 Seth Nikotemo
16 Renouf Atoni
28 Harvey Smith
18th man (not used)
21 Mathieu Cozza
Also in 21-man squad
7 Oliver Russell
25 Jack Croft
35 Ellis Lingard

Tries: Myers (44), Scott (71)
Goals: Lino 1/2

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 12-0, 18-0; 18-4, 20-4, 26-4, 26-10

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Leopards: Lachlan Lam; Trinity: Cameron Scott

Penalty count: 1-2
Half-time: 18-0
Referee: Liam Moore
Attendance: 10,011