Leigh Leopards climb into second in Super League as Adrian Lam provides injury latest on duo

Leigh Leopards coach Adrian Lam said he was ‘proud and pleased’ for the club and town as they climbed to second in the Super League table with an impressive 34-4 win over Hull KR.

The Leopards were 22-0 at half-time thanks to first half tries from Tom Briscoe, Edwin Ipape, Ed Chamberlain and Josh Charnley.

Ricky Leutele was awarded a penalty try early in the second half which put the game out of reach whilst in-form prop Robbie Mulhern got on the scoresheet in the final quarter.

Mikey Lewis scored a consolation try for Hull KR with nine minutes left, but it was Leigh’s night as they secured a 34-4 victory and their 10th win in 11 matches.

Speaking after the game, Lam said: “Really pleased and proud for the team and the town and everyone involved.

“We’ve been working really hard to get to this position so we’ve just got to hold onto it now.

“I thought our first half was outstanding – it was as good as it has been this year, completing at 90% and going in 22 points up was exactly what we talked about and needed. Our big players stood up and got the job done.

“I thought all of our big players were really good. Our forward pack were fantastic, Mulhern and (Tom) Amone were really good, (Edwin) Ipape was good, (Lachlan) Lam and (Ben) Reynolds had some good touches.

“I think we’ve been a consistent side, not one person has blown away the opposition team. It’s always been a collective effort as a group.”

Leigh Leopards boss provides injury latest on duo

Leopards captain John Asiata came off the field early with a shoulder/neck injury and didn’t return, but Lam revealed that the NRL Grand Final winner could have gone back if they had needed him to.

Ireland international Mulhern left the action after scoring his try after taking a knock to his ribs.

Lam said: “John Asiata is fine, he could have gone back on the field but Robbie Mulhern has got a bit of a rib injury so we’ll have a good look at him on Monday.

“I could have put him (Asiata) back on but I wanted them to play without him and make sure we got those combinations and I was happy with that.”

Meanwhile, Lam was delighted to welcome back experienced forwards Jack Hughes and Ben Nakubuwai from lengthy spells in the treatment room.

He added: “Very pleased for Jack Hughes who hasn’t played a lot this year for us. Obviously he was a real leader at Warrington and a senior player, so I was really pleased just to have him back in our 17.

“Also Ben Nakubuwai who I thought was outstanding in the World Cup. He’s missed a lot of games for us this year so two senior players back in our squad is certainly going to help.

“Like all clubs, we’ve had our injuries but we finally got two players back tonight albeit still Kai O’Donnell out.

“I think Joe Wardle will be back next week so there’s another experienced, tough player for us and then we will be getting closer to getting back to where we need to be.”

Next up for Leigh is a trip to Castleford next Friday, 8pm kick-off.

READ NEXT: Leigh Leopards ‘focal point’ John Asiata credited for allowing star man to flourish