Adrian Lam picks out 6 St Helens stars that ‘can certainly hurt’ Leigh Leopards in crunch clash

Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has highlighted a sextet of key threats his side need to deal with in Friday night’s crunch clash with St Helens.

Familiar foes Leigh and Saints square off at the Leopards’ Den in the final round of the regular Super League campaign, with Lam’s side still needing to win to ensure they finish in the play-offs.

If they are beaten, it will be all eyes on both Leeds Rhinos – who travel to Hull KR on Friday evening – and Catalans Dragons, who go to Hull FC on Saturday afternoon.

Defeat combined with a victory for either of those, and the Leopards will miss out on the top six.

Saints are virtually guaranteed a play-off spot barring a mathematical miracle, but are playing for a home tie next week in the ‘eliminators’.

If they can win at Leigh, they’ll earn themselves a home tie against Salford Red Devils. Lose though, and they’ll be going away to either Warrington Wolves or Hull KR.

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Adrian Lam picks out 6 St Helens stars that ‘can certainly hurt’ Leigh Leopards in crunch clash

Since their return to Super League, the Leopards have won three and lost two of their meetings with Saints – including that unforgettable Challenge Cup semi-final triumph last year.

Notably, Lam‘s men haven’t lost on home soil to Paul Wellens’ side over the last two seasons though, thumping them 46-4 at the back end of July.

But ahead of Friday night’s huge clash, the Papua New Guinean chief boss didn’t shy away from picking out Saints stars, reeling off six as he said: “As a team, they’re quite well-balanced right across the whole park.

“With (Lewis) Dodd being back in there, he’ll have something to prove, not only to us but to his own team-mates and their supporters.

“You’ve got (Jonny) Lomax and (Jack) Welsby who connect really well, and (Daryl) Clark who’s back through the middle.

“On top of that, they’ve got some big bodies in (Alex) Walmsley and (Agnatius) Paasi that can certainly hurt us.

“The forward pack battle will be incredible. We’ve got a fair job to do, but we’re prepared.”

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