As much as I love Headingley, it’s not the right venue for the Summer Bash.
I went several times when it was at Blackpool, which has also hosted BARLA Cup finals successfully, and enjoyed the atmosphere created by all the various fans coming together for the day, or weekend.
An event like Magic Weekend or the Summer Bash needs to be somewhere different to the norm, and Leeds doesn’t have that novelty value.
As for the action itself, it wasn’t a massive surprise to see Leigh claim another comfortable victory over Featherstone, and while it all comes down to the play-offs, it’s hard to see Adrian Lam’s side being thwarted in their bid to return to Super League.
Owner Derek Beaumont is certainly backing Lam and his head of rugby Chris Chester, and with the strength of the current squad and the retentions already announced, if Leigh return to the top table as expected, they should be stronger than they were last season.
Derek knows the key is to survive that first year and build from there, and with such as Blake Ferguson, Edwin Ipape, Josh Charnley and Lachlan Lam, Leigh could do that and provide entertainment in the process.
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