Leigh coach hails Paul Wellens for St Helens turnaround as prediction on spine made

Leigh boss Adrian Lam has shared his respect for the threat that St Helens pose ahead of their mightily important trip to the Leopards’ Den.

Saints – who sit fifth on the Super League ladder – make the short trip across the North West to take on Lam’s side on Friday night.

Leigh occupy fourth spot and are three competition points better off than their opponents with just two rounds of the ‘regular’ campaign remaining.

Accordingly, if the Leopards can avoid defeat on home soil, they will officially cement a top-four finish this term: and with it, a first-ever home tie in the Super League play-offs.

Saints must beat Leigh to salvage any chance of a home tie in the play-offs after back-to-back defeats against the top two in Hull KR and Wigan Warriors.

Leigh Leopards coach hails St Helens turnaround ahead of crunch clash with compliments paid

Paul Wellens’ side had won nine of their ten games prior to the last two though, and the only blip during that run was a 16-4 defeat at home against Leigh on July 17.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon, Leopards head coach Lam said: “I think they’ve been quite consistent during the season.

“They’re a team that strangle sides and they’ve performed really well. A lot of their away games have been exceptional.

“They’ve got individuals that are great players, have been around a long time, and have got the experience to turn it on whenever they need or want to.

“I think, quietly, they’ve been improving as a team, too. You can see that in the style they play.

“We respect them as much as ever and I’m excited that we’ve got a home game here with two weeks to go, it’ll be sold out and it’ll be buzzing here.

“I love rugby league when it’s like that.”

‘We’ve played them enough over the last couple of years to understand their individuals and the way they play’

Leigh have won all three of their home games against Saints under Lam, with Saints’ record against the competition’s top clubs not making for good reading.

Last weekend, boss Wellens slotted Jack Welsby into the loose forward role vacated by Morgan Knowles’ absence, and it remains to be seen whether that will be the case again at the Leopards’ Den with Knowles still sidelined.

On how he expects the Red V to shape up on Friday night, Lam said: “They’re probably not settled on what that spine looks like for them, and no doubt there may be a change there.

“But we’ve covered all of those areas in our preview of them. We’ve kept that really simple and made it more about us.

“We’ve played them enough over the last couple of years to understand their individuals and the way they play.

“We know it’s going to be physical and the start is going to be as difficult as any game this season.

“There’s a finals feel about the game, and we’re really excited about it.”