6 CONCLUSIONS FROM LEIGH LEOPARDS’ HUGE WIN OVER ST HELENS: ROBBIE MULHERN, JACK WELSBY…

Leigh Leopards made their play-off intentions clear for all to see as they won their third game on the spin, thrashing struggling St Helens 46-4 at home.

Adrian Lam’s side raced into a 24-0 lead at the break thanks to first half tries from Umyla Hanley, Tom Amone, Darnell McIntosh and Kai O’Donnell.

Ben Davies pulled one back for Saints in the second half but the game was already gone, with Josh Charnley (2), Lachlan Lam and Matt Moylan scoring further Leigh tries to secure a 46-4 victory for the impressive Leopards.

It was a game with plenty of talking points so let’s get into them, shall we? Leigh fans, you’re going to like this. St Helens fans? Not so much…

Jack Welsby blow

St Helens were dealt an injury blow just three minutes into the game when star man Jack Welsby went down following an innocuous-looking challenge from Leigh fullback Matt Moylan. The England international limped off the field with what looked like a hamstring injury and didn’t return.

And with Konrad Hurell, Alex Walmsley, Sione Mata’utia, Joe Batchelor, Jake Wingfield and Morgan Knowles already in the treatment room, Saints fans will desperately be hoping it isn’t anything long-term for the versatile Welsby.

Have Leigh got the best front-row in Super League?

The Leopards have, arguably, got the best front-row in the competition. You’d struggle to get a better pair of starting front-rowers than Robbie Mulhern and Tom Amone, whilst Edwin Ipape at nine is the best hooker in Super League.

Papua New Guinea international Ipape added plenty of spark to Leigh’s attack and produced several big hits when defending, whilst England international Mulhern and NRL-bound Amone bulldozed their way through the middle, with Saints struggling to bring them down. Those three players will be crucial if Leigh are to make the play-offs.

St Helens’ inability to post points

Saints got on the scoresheet once through Davies which was sparked by a superb breakaway from promising fullback Harry Robertson: but they seemed to freeze on a number of occasions when they were inside Leigh’s 20.

There was one incident that stands out that came in the first half, when Waqa Blake should’ve put his head down for the line but decided to come back inside and was ultimately tackled: and the set fizzled out.

It must be recognised that it didn’t help Saints given Welsby’s injury in the halves, Jonny Lomax’s sin-bin and Moses Mbye having to go off with injury: but they still needed to take their chances better than they did against Leigh. When playing a side as physical and as potent as Leigh, you need to take your chances, but Saints were way below par in every facet.

Saints sweat on more injury concerns

The suspected hamstring injury to Welsby has already been mentioned: but there are three more players who they will be sweating on ahead of next Saturday’s trip to Hull FC, a game which has more riding on it for Saints than Hull in terms of the league table.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Saints boss Paul Wellens admitted that halfback Moses Mbye and Mark Percival came off with knocks whilst young prop George Delaney was notably limping towards the end of the game.

And as the old saying goes: ‘when it rains, it pours’.

Josh Charnley climbs the try charts (again)

Two tries from Josh Charnley saw the flying Leigh winger move ahead of Maurice Richards in the list of all-time try scorers in the British game, and is now level with Alan Hardisty in joint 30th place.

Charnley is only seven tries behind Hull KR man Ryan Hall, who broke the Super League record not too long ago!

Hanley a long-term option at centre?

Umyla Hanley has been nothing short of a sensation for Leigh this season, and has really established himself as a Super League regular after having to bide his time at both Wigan and Leigh: but it’s been a tremendous breakthrough season for him.

He has played on the wing in the majority of the games for Lam’s side this year but he has played centre over the last couple of weeks, with new recruit Darnell McIntosh coming in on the wing. Hanley was impressive on both sides of the ball against Saints. He’s got those quick feet that a centre needs, but he’s also got that dogged nature of defending. With Zak Hardaker heading to Hull in 2025 and Ricky Leutele potentially retiring, could Hanley be Leigh’s answer to their centre options?

2024-07-26T23:24:28Z dg43tfdfdgfd