LEIGH LEOPARDS thrashed Wakefield Trinity in another dismal afternoon for Mark Applegarth’s men in Super League.
It was nip and tuck in the early exchanges with Wakefield belying their lowly position in the Super League table to cause Leigh all sorts of problems.
However, the Leopards should have had the opening try when Tom Briscoe charged down the wing, only for his pass inside to Ben Reynolds being deemed forward by referee Marcus Griffiths.
Wakefield were looking dangerous though and almost caused the visitors even more problems when Will Dagger streaked through the line, before Griffiths adjudged an obstruction in the build-up.
That laid the platform for the first points of the afternoon on 25 minutes as Josh Charnley found space down the left and his pass inside to Gareth O’Brien was timed to perfection. Ben Reynolds couldn’t convert, however, as Leigh led 4-0.
The Leopards weren’t in a mood to mess about and a superb Lachlan Lam break ended with Reynolds crossing under the posts on the half-hour. This time, Reynolds converted for a 10-0 lead and that’s how it stayed until half-time.
Wakefield’s problems were compounded shortly after the break when a brilliant Charnley break laid the platform for Lachlan Lam to sprint home from 40 metres. Reynolds converted to make it 16-0 after 46 metres.
This time Charnley scored himself on 55 minutes, picking up a bouncing ball to finish expertly in the corner. Reynolds converted from the touchline to make it 22-0.
Another acrobatic Charnley effort stretched the lead to 28-0 before Joe Mellor finished up a Reynolds bomb to run home. This time Reynolds couldn’t convert as Leigh led 32-0.
Wakefield Trinity
33 Will Dagger
18 Lee Kershaw
4 Reece Lyne
21 Samisoni Langi
2 Jorge Taufua
20 Morgan Smith
7 Mason Lino
10 Jai Whitbread
9 Liam Hood
17 Renouf Atoni
31 Sam Hewitt
11 Matty Ashurst (C)
13 Jay Pitts
Substitutes
8 Eddie Battye
15 Liam Kay
16 Josh Bowden
19 Kevin Proctor
12 Kelepi Tanginoa
24 Harry Bowes
25 Sam Eseh
34 Innes Senior
Leigh Leopards
17 Gareth O’Brien
2 Tom Briscoe
4 Ricky Leutele
1 Zak Hardaker
5 Josh Charnley
15 Ben Reynolds
7 Lachlan Lam
8 Tom Amone
9 Edwin Ipape
10 Robbie Mulhern
16 Oliver Holmes
24 Kai O’Donnell
13 John Asiata
Substitutes
6 Joe Mellor
18 Matty Davis
25 Nathan Wilde
27 Ava Seumanufagai
Also in 21-man squad
3 Ed Chamberlain
19 Aaron Smith
23 Jacob Gannon
26 Umyla Hanley
Tries: O’Brien (25), Reynolds (30), Lam (46), Charnley (55, 68), Mellor (71)
Goals: Reynolds 4/6
Half-time: 0-10
Referee: Marcus Griffiths
Scoring sequence: 0-4, 0-10; 0-16, 0-22, 0-28, 0-32