Leigh coach waxes lyrical over Adam Cook following sublime display in Hull FC win

Leigh boss Adrian Lam believes Adam Cook has been among the best half-backs in Super League over the last few months, with the Australian shining again as the Leopards won 32-22 at Hull FC on Saturday evening.

25-year-old Cook arrived at Leigh ahead of the 2026 campaign from NRL outfit Canberra Raiders.

Having made his first-grade debut Down Under back in 2020 and only registered eight NRL appearances in total before heading to Super League, pressure was on his shoulders from the get-go.

Penning a three-year deal with the Leopards, the playmaker had plenty of critics in the opening few months of the season as he found his feet.

But Saturday brought the latest in a growing list of standout showings as the Queensland native scooped the Player of the Match medal.

‘From the Catalans away game, Adam Cook has been one of the best halves in the competition’

As Leigh chalked up a tenth win in their last 12 games to move fifth on the Super League ladder, half-back Cook delivered a first half clinic which included a try of his own to help guide Leigh into a 28-0 half-time lead.

The tide turned in the second half, but just as Hull threatened to pull of the comeback of all comebacks, Cook came up with a pressure-relieving 40/20, and then put Josh Charnley in at the corner to seal victory with a tremendous looping cut-out pass.

Post-match, head coach Lam said: “Him and Lokie (Lachlan Lam) today were awesome. Both played really well.

“Cookie pulled out a big play with the 40/20, and then his triple cut-out to the winger was courageous.

“We haven’t had the ball down there for 30 minutes and then he does that and it comes off.

“It’s something I couldn’t do! I’d be trying to manage the game.

“That’s the instinct play you love from players, he nailed it and it was a huge play for us in that second half.”

Named in the New South Wales Cup team of the year in 2024, Cook was handed the kicking tee upon his arrival at Leigh, and his accuracy in front of goal has improved in recent weeks in line with his overall form.

Pointing to a pivotal moment in the season away in Perpignan against Catalans Dragons at the start of May when Cook was the hero of the hour, boss Lam continued: “I don’t waver with the players, I back them.

“Form takes time and changing competitions takes time. From the Catalans away game, Adam Cook has been one of the best halves in the competition.

“Him and Lokie in the last two or three weeks have been outstanding together, and that can only help us move up the ladder.

“They need to do that for us to take advantage of what we’ve done and to help us progress.”