Leigh player ratings in Hull KR defeat as ‘really poor’ overseas ace scores 4

Ben Olawumi 19 Jun 2026 9:50 PM

Isaac Liu in action for Leigh Leopards in 2026

Leigh’s miserable run against Hull KR continued on Friday night with a 22-8 defeat on the road as Adrian Lam’s side lost ground in the race for the Super League play-offs.

Live from the Craven Park press box, our Leopards ratings are a real mixed bag…

David Armstrong – 5

Going forward, Armstrong didn’t do much wrong. But defensively a night he’ll want to forget, not preventing Peta Hiku’s first half try or Bill Leyland’s in the second half, with the latter of those a shambles.

Innes Senior – 6

We didn’t see much of Senior with the ball in hand, but he was pretty solid throughout without shining.

Tesi Niu – 7

A positive showing from Niu on his return from injury with a couple of nice bursts and one line break.

Umyla Hanley – 9

By far and away Leigh’s best on the night. Hanley’s competitive nature is praised regularly by Adrian Lam, and we saw it in abundance here as he returned from his injury lay-off. It led to Jacob Alick-Wiencke’s try in the first half which, at the time got the Leopards back into the contest. Should have had another assist late on, but his pass to Matt Davis was forward.

Bailey Hodgson – 6

Not Hodgson’s night having been thrust onto the wing as part of a re-jig in the absence of Josh Charnley. Didn’t really offer much in attack until his late try, which he took well, and was found wanting defensively a couple of times, including for Hiku’s second try.

Adam Cook – 6

Far from as good as Cook has delivered in recent weeks, a real drop off in truth. Having been near perfect from the tee where conversions are concerned recently though, his miss following Jacob Alick-Wiencke’s try was a shocker. The Australian also missed his second attempt late on, albeit that was from out wide.

Gareth O’Brien – 6

O’Brien has plenty of fond memories at Craven Park, but this won’t be high up on his list. The highlight of his performance a burst downfield courtesy of Niu’s powerful line break, but Hiku got him with an ankle tap to halt that.

Joe Ofahengaue – 8

The drop off in performance level when Ofahengaue isn’t on the field is something which desperately needs rectifying, but just underlines his importance in this Leigh side. An absolutely huge presence.

Edwin Ipape – 7

Ipape enjoyed a bright start with the ball in hand and came close to a try in the first half. His second stint brought much of the same, but he’s definitely still got some levels to find.

Robbie Mulhern – 6

A mixed evening for Mulhern, who began by forcing a knock-on from Sauaso ‘Jesse’ Sue but quickly followed that up with a rather poor knock-on of his own close to the KR try-line. Those two incidents rather sum up his night.

Frankie Halton – 6

Another workman-like display from Halton. Standard.

Jacob Alick-Wiencke – 7

After a slow start, Alick-Wiencke grew into the game following his try midway through the first half and enjoyed some real influence on things in attack.

Isaac Liu – 7

We’ll continue to bang the drum that Leigh need to get Liu’s contract extension sorted as swiftly as possible. He’s another character that’s pivotal in this side, and was good again here tonight. Unlucky not to get over for a try with a silky show and go just before his withdrawal.

Aaron Pene (Interchange) – 4

Truthfully, there’s been no evidence over the last few weeks to suggest Leigh were wrong in the slightest in wanting shut of Pene earlier this year. Another really poor, error-strewn performance and was perhaps fortunate not to see yellow for the high shot which ended Joe Burgess’ evening early in the second half.

Matt Davis (Interchange) – 5

Davis had to wait until ten minutes into the second half to enter the action, but didn’t really have a great deal of impact in the half-an-hour he played. Won’t reflect fondly on his involvement in the Leyland try, and got lucky that Hanley’s pass to him after a break was forward as he knocked it on in another poor error.