Adrian Lam makes brutally honest personal admission following latest Leigh Leopards win
Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam
Leigh boss Adrian Lam admitted he let his emotions ‘get the better of him’ during their dramatic win against Warrington Wolves, with the Leopards now firmly in the hunt for a top-two finish.
Leigh had won three games on the spin, all against the other teams in the top four, prior to Friday night’s clash against a Warrington side struggling to make it into the play-offs this term.
The Leopards though had an uncharacteristically poor evening for the most part, and trailed 16-8 on home soil with just nine minutes remaining after Marc Sneyd slotted home a penalty for the visitors.
What followed was testament to the resilience that Lam has built within his squad as Umyla Hanley first went over to make it a two-point ball game after Gareth O’Brien converted his try.
And Owen Trout then barrelled over from close range with just over 76 minutes on the clock, 20-16 the final score.
Adrian Lam makes brutally honest personal admission following latest Leigh Leopards win
Speaking post-match, Lam opened up on his emotions throughout the contest, with his side moving back to within just one competition point of second-placed Wigan Warriors.
The Papua New Guinean detailed: “I was frustrated and angry for most of the game, caught up in my emotions, which I try really hard not to do.
“I went in at half-time really angry and I was going to blow up at them. I was frustrated at how poor we were compared to how we’ve been over the last month.
“I can’t remember a lot of the game because I was that caught up in what we weren’t doing right that I lost the flow of it, I don’t even know what happened in that last 15 minutes.
“All I know is that all of a sudden we were two points behind with five minutes to go, and I was like, ‘we’ve got a chance here’.”
Prior to their most recent promotion in 2022, all three of Leigh’s previous seasons in the top-flight in the summer era had ended in relegation.
Having lifted the Challenge Cup in 2023, Lam has guided the Leopards to two successive fifth-placed finishes in Super League, and is hungry for more this time around.
He continued: “I’m not normally that emotional in a game, and I’m aware of that, it’s something I’ve tried to learn and develop as a skill not to be so emotionally caught up.
“But the table’s like it is and as a club we’ve never been there before, then we’re playing like that when it counts most and we’ve got an opportunity to stay within one point.
“It all got the better of me.
“I need to make sure I keep my feet grounded myself and not get too ahead of where we are, and stay present.”
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