Leigh Leopards ratings in Castleford Tigers win as veteran haunts former club

Leigh Leopards returned to winning ways in Super League and moved back into the play-off spots with a 20-6 win away against Castleford Tigers on Saturday night.

Here are our Leopards ratings…

David Armstrong – 6

Armstrong hasn’t really shone in the last few weeks, but he was sound defensively in the most part at The Jungle and enjoyed one eye-catching break downfield in the second half after a clean take of a high bomb. Room for improvement, but solid overall.

Darnell McIntosh – 8

First and foremost, McIntosh will be delighted to have got through 80 minutes for the first time this season after a bit of a nightmare injury-wise. He took both of his tries well on the night, and Adrian Lam will have no complaints with his all-round showing. 0/1 with the boot having taken over kicking duties in the second half.

Tesi Niu – 8

Another powerful performance from Niu, who is proving to be one of the smartest bits of recruitment across the whole of Super League this year.

Keanan Brand – 7

Moved into the centres to replace the injured Umyla Hanley with McIntosh returning on the wing, and didn’t drop his performance levels having done so. Boss Lam will have some big decisions to make over the next few weeks about his backline, but it’s hard to see Brand not being involved.

Bailey Hodgson – 7

Another solid showing from Hodgson, who took his try well early on in the second half and produced some nice carries with the ball in hand throughout. Took a clattering off Sylvester Namo as the Papua New Guinean sin-binned and had to go for a HIA as a result, which he passed.

Gareth O’Brien – 9

We don’t get a say in it, obviously, but O’Brien was our man-of-the-match against his former employers. He produced two bits of quality to get both McIntosh and Hodgson over for tries, and used all of his experience to carve out plenty of other opportunities for Leigh throughout. Went 2/4 with the boot before relinquishing kicking duties in the second half due to some muscle tightness.

Lachlan Lam – 8

Lam was back to his best in the Challenge Cup at Wakefield last weekend, and he delivered another impressive performance here, causing issues for Cas pretty much all night long. A couple of official assists in there as his reward. Was penalised for a dangerous tackle on the hour-mark, but we won’t hold that against him too much.

Owen Trout – 8

Two very good stints from Trout, who was everywhere in the first half. He’s really stepped up this year for the Leopards, and more performances like this one will be exactly what boss Lam is after from the front-rower. He even prevented a goal-line drop out at one point by literally putting his body in the way of Tesi Niu’s!

Edwin Ipape – 7

Ipape enjoyed a tremendous start to the game, powering his way over for a try just four minutes in with a trademark run from dummy-half. The hooker then took the ball very well when it was thumped straight at him and earned a penalty on the back of it. He was penalised for a tip tackle not long after that, and we didn’t see as much from him second half. 7.5, if we did half marks!

Robbie Mulhern – 8

When Mulhern’s at his best, he really is one of the best front-rowers in the competition. Since his return from injury, he’s been exactly that. His lung-busting break for Ipape’s opening try at The Jungle kickstarted another ferocious showing, with the England international dominating the pack battle.

Frankie Halton – 8

Halton has been back from injury a couple of weeks longer, but his role in Leigh’s team is another pivotal one. Since Kai O’Donnell’s departure, he’s really stepped up his game. A strong first half on Saturday was followed by an equally impressive showing in the second 40, with the highlight his huge chase and hit to earn the Leopards a goal-line drop-out.

Jack Hughes – 6

Hughes that into the back-row with Ethan O’Neill absent, and went about his business quietly all evening. Did what he needed to do, no glitz or glam but no fuss.

Isaac Liu – 8

We’ve said it a few times already this season, but Liu is an absolute monster. Great on both sides of the ball at The Jungle, and played the vast majority of the game.

Aaron Pene (Interchange) – 8

This was Pene’s best game in a Leigh shirt. For whatever reason, he hasn’t been in the picture at the Leopards’ Den so far this year, but he had the impact that was required on the game having come off the bench. Did a pretty lengthy stint, too.

Alec Tuitavake (Interchange) – 8

We could probably copy and paste as above for Tuitavake. He combined with Halton for that huge chase and hit to earn a goal-line drop-out early on in the second half.

Matt Davis (Interchange) – 6

Davis was lively when he came on, and was alert to pick up the ball when it was dropped by Cas near the Leigh line just after the hour-mark.

Louis Brogan (Interchange) – 6

A solid showing.