LEIGH LEOPARDS 38 SALFORD RED DEVILS 6
DAVE PARKINSON, Leigh Sports Village, Friday
IT was job done for Leigh against Salford – eventually.
The visitors showed true grit and determination in the first half at Leigh Sports village as embattled head coach Paul Rowley handed debuts to another six loanees who all showed up well and only ran out of steam in the last 22 minutes, when Leigh ran in five tries with Lachlan Lam at the hub of everything.
Against all odds, the Red Devils scored the first try of the game after 19 minutes. It came after Bailey Hodgson spilled a swirling kick from outstanding debutant Rowan Milnes, who played throughout like he had a point to prove.
The visitors successfully challenged a decision to award Leigh a turnover after Milnes saw his low kick played at by Isaac Liu. Milnes was hauled down close before Joe Mellor went in from dummy-half and Milnes converted.
Leigh were soon on parity, opening their account in the 22nd minute when Andy Badrock popped the ball up and Tesi Niu went 25 metres to the line for a converted try.
Josh Charnley looked set for the left corner shortly afterwards from a scrum, only for a wonderful cover tackle from Declan Murphy to put him in touch.
It was a largely frustrating half for Leigh as much as it was a solid effort from the visitors. Too many casual errors held the Leopards back while the Salford defence was mustard-keen.
The Red Devils defended their own line with relish before the break and it took an angled kick from Lam to beat them, Ethan O’Neill plucking the ball out of the air to sail over and Ben McNamara adding his second goal to secure a 12-6 half-time advantage.
Salford had their moments early in the second half too, applying pressure as Jack Darbyshire – playing against his own club – put Keanan Brand in touch, before Harvey Wilson was brought down on the line. The pressure was finally relieved when Brad Dwyer dropped on an attempted kick through.
Only in the 58th minute did Leigh score again, going wide on the last tackle and Lam sending Charnley over in the corner.
Brad Dwyer opened things up with a dart from dummy-half, Lam followed him and Matt Davis sailed over the line after 63 minutes.
The score only began to blow out on Salford at the end, as Bailey Hodgson reached out with 13 minutes remaining from Lam’s distribution.
A flowing scrum move then saw Niu hand on to Charnley and he turned back inside for a strong finish.
Leigh added their fifth try of the second half when Lam wrapped round to the right and AJ Towse crossed.
Nathan Connell had a late chance to grab further consolation as he kicked past Charnley, but he couldn’t ground and Leigh’s second-half surge saw them stay in the Super League top-four race.
GAMESTAR: Lachlan Lam had a hand or boot in most of the Leopards’ best play.
GAMEBREAKER: Josh Charnley’s first try after 58 minutes put Leigh on the front foot and thereafter there was only one winner.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: Joe Mellor diving in to give Salford the lead.
ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Lachlan Lam (Leigh)
2 pts Matt Davis (Leigh)
1 pt Rowan Milnes (Salford)
MATCHFACTS
LEOPARDS
24 Bailey Hodgson
18 Keanan Brand
3 Tesi Niu
2 Darnell McIntosh
5 Josh Charnley
22 Ben McNamara
7 Lachlan Lam
12 Jack Hughes
16 Matt Davis
10 Robbie Mulhern
21 Andy Badrock
20 Ethan O’Neill
13 Isaac Liu
Subs (all used)
14 Aaron Pene
15 Alec Tuitavake
29 AJ Towse
17 Brad Dwyer
18th man (not used)
6 Gareth O’Brien
Also in 21-man squad
4 Umyla Hanley
8 Owen Trout
9 Edwin Ipape
Tries: Niu (22), O’Neill (39), Charnley (58, 71), Davis (63), Hodgson (67), Towse (76)
Goals: McNamara 5/7
RED DEVILS
57 Declan Murphy
65 Neil Tchamambe (D)
66 Louix Gorman (D)
64 Jack Darbyshire (D)
28 Nathan Connell
69 Rowan Milnes (D)
9 Joe Mellor
16 Loghan Lewis
41 Finley Yates
19 Justin Sangaré
67 Leon Ruan (D)
52 Dan Russell
24 Harvey Wilson
Subs (all used)
29 Charlie Glover
30 Tiaki Chan
50 Toby Warren
68 Emmanuel Waine (D)
18th man (not used)
51 Sam Hill
Also in 19-man squad
26 Jamie Pye
Tries: Mellor (19)
Goals: Milnes 1/1
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 6-6, 12-6; 18-6, 24-6, 28-6, 32-6, 38-6
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Leopards: Lachlan Lam; Red Devils: Rowan Milnes
Penalty count: 4-2
Half-time: 12-6
Referee: Marcus Griffiths
Attendance: 7,826