Leigh Leopards ratings in Huddersfield Giants win with key man utterly sublime

Leigh Leopards brought an end to their winless run with a 28-24 victory against Huddersfield Giants at the John Smith’s Stadium on Thursday night.

These are our Leopards ratings…

David Armstrong – 7

A welcome return for Armstrong, who Adrian Lam and Leigh will hope is able to stay fit for a lengthy stint in the team now. After a first half where he was lively and threatened without any reward, the full-back eventually got his moment of glory on 44 minutes with his try. Replaced late on by Bailey Hodgson as a precautionary measure. A solid effort.

Darnell McIntosh – 6

Defensively, this won’t be an evening McIntosh reflects on fondly. He didn’t look confident under the high ball all night, and his apparent attempt to jockey George Flanagan for his try just before the break was baffling. A great offload for Lachlan Lam was the highlight of his game.

Tesi Niu – 7

Another solid showing from Niu, who had a quieter game than we’ve seen for most of this season, but was effective in getting Leigh up the field every time he got his hands on the ball. His break following a dropped ball from the hosts late on relieved pressure.

Umyla Hanley – 8

If we gave half marks out, we’d have given Hanley a 7.5 here, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and hand him an eight. He was good on both sides of the ball on Thursday night, earning a goal-line drop out in the first half through a terrific kick chase and then teeing up Keanan Brand for the break which led to Ben McNamara’s try.

Keanan Brand – 8

Brand was among Leigh’s best on the night, with numerous standout moments on both sides of the ball. The highlight was that lung-busting break in the first half which saw him ride a couple of tackles to tee up McNamara, but he was excellent defensively when called upon, too.

Ben McNamara – 9

Both of Leigh’s halves shone in what – between the pair – was a game of two halves. McNamara enjoyed the limelight in the first 40, earning a goal-line drop out before getting on the end of that break from Brand to score a try. He then got an assist for his half-back partner in the second half and pinned Adam Swift in-goal to earn another drop-out after the restart. 4/5 with the boot.

Lachlan Lam – 9

Lam was relatively quiet in the first half, but then stepped up and delivered an absolute masterclass in the second 40. Two assists were added to the tally, sandwiching an absolutely stunning solo try that came from his lung-busting break downfield having taken an offload from McIntosh in his own half. More performances like this please, Lokie!

We won’t hold his intercepted pass for Sam Halsall’s try late on against him.

Joe Ofahengaue – 8

Another really solid showing from Ofahengaue, who has been a breath of fresh air for all connected to Leigh since his mid-April arrival from the NRL. He seems to produce numerous offloads per game, putting every bit of his frame to good use.

Edwin Ipape – 7

Ipape grabbed the assist for Leigh’s opening try, but has had better evenings in terms of all-round performance. A couple of poorly timed missed tackles perhaps a sign of his desperation to deliver better than we’ve seen in recent weeks.

Robbie Mulhern – 7

Mulhern enjoyed a couple of solid stints, but again, we’ve seen better from the big man than he delivered on the night. His rating is probably influenced unfairly here by the penalty he conceded for putting Adam Clune in a ‘vulnerable position in the air’. The Giants scored off that, and it almost sparked an almighty comeback.

Frankie Halton – 7

Halton’s return will be very welcomed by all connected to the Leopards, and he marked the occasion with a nice try. We’ve seen that exact try a few times now where the Ireland international crashes over on the back of a pass from Lachlan Lam. The back-rower will still feel there’s room for improvement in the weeks to come.

Owen Trout – 8

Trout didn’t get the glory of a try, but his efforts certainly didn’t go unnoticed by us. A huge influence when Leigh didn’t have the ball in hand.

Isaac Liu – 8

Tremendous from Liu again, who got his first try for Leigh as he scored the opener here. You can’t help but be pleased he’s got that moment of glory, richly deserved for how he’s performed in a Leopards shirt all year since his off-season arrival.

Alec Tuitavake (Interchange) – 7

The best performer of those that come off the interchange bench for Leigh, in our opinion. At least the one that had the most impact.

Jack Hughes (Interchange) – 6

Hughes conceded a penalty needlessly on 72 minutes for an off-the-ball incident when his team-mates looked to have things under control. That ramped the pressure on the Leopards. Not a moment he’ll reflect on fondly.

Matt Davis (Interchange) – 6

Always has an impact, but has delivered better than this.

Bailey Hodgson (Interchange) – N/A

We won’t give him a rating because he only played 11 minutes, but Hodgson was certainly heavily involved when he was on the field. Some good things, some not so great things from him.