5 conclusions from Leigh Leopards’ history-making play-off win at Salford Red Devils

Leigh Leopards picked up a 14-6 win away against Salford Red Devils on Friday night to progress into the Super League play-off semi-finals.

Heading in 2-0 down at the break, quickfire tries from Josh Charnley and Gareth O’Brien alongside one conversion from Matt Moylan put the visitors 10-2 to the good.

Edwin Ipape then bundled over for a try of his own having teed up O’Brien earlier in the contest, and the Leopards were 12 points to the good.

It was cut to eight when Ethan Ryan crossed for Salford late on, but Leigh hung in there for a hard-fought 14-6 victory to progress.

Here are our five key conclusions…

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Leigh make history

The Leopards had never finished higher than 11th in Super League when they gained promotion at the end of the 2022 season.

Adrian Lam’s side were beaten at Hull KR in the play-off eliminators this time last year, and 12 months on, they’re now just 80 minutes from a first-ever Old Trafford appearance – meaning they’ve never been this far in the competition before.

After lifting the Challenge Cup in 2023, the current crop of Leythers have now made even more history.

They’ll discover whether it’s a trip to Wigan Warriors or Hull KR in the semi-finals following Saturday’s other eliminator stage tie between Warrington Wolves and St Helens.

Edwin Ipape IS the best hooker in Super League

We’ve thought this for a while, but we don’t think there can be any argument when Ipape is on form as he was tonight.

His burst forward for Leigh’s second try of the night was remarkable, and the nerve to throw that pass out to O’Brien showed another level of class.

The hooker then got over for a try of his own, dotting the ball down on the line having bumped off a couple of defenders.

The best bit? Performances like that are the absolute norm. What a player. Cult hero. In 10 years’ time, we’ll be referring to him as a ‘Betfredman’. If you know, you know.

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A positive year for Salford

Salford‘s campaign is now over, and there’ll be deep regret over Friday night’s second half performance, but it’s been a year of absolute positives for the Red Devils both on and off the field.

Embracing the ‘underdogs’ tag as always, Paul Rowley’s side made the top four on one of the lowest budgets in the division with plenty of players shining – including Nene Macdonald and Marc Sneyd, who made it into the Super League Dream Team.

Granted an academy licence, the Greater Manchester outfit also recently saw Salford council acquire the stadium rights, going a long way to securing their home for the future. It’s felt like a big year for the Red Devils.

Let’s not forget, Friday’s crowd of 10,867 was the biggest-ever for any rugby league game at the Salford Community Stadium.

Tim Lafai card debate

It’s largely irrelevant now with Leigh having progressed, but had they not, there’d have been a bigger debate around the fact that Salford centre Tim Lafai remained on the field following his contact with the head of Frankie Halton early on.

The Leopards back-rower was forced off and failed a HIA, with clear contact to his head from Lafai’s shoulder. Accidental it seemed, and we’re sure it was, but we’ve seen cards for far less this season.

Sky Sports pundits Jon Wilkin and Sam Tomkins raised that very point at half-time, admitting they wouldn’t have been surprised had referee Jack Smith pulled a card out.

We did see a card late on for obstruction from Leigh forward Jack Hughes, though there’ll be no arguments with that decision.

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Serious injury concerns for the Leopards

Leigh were without back-rower Kai O’Donnell for the trip to Salford due to abdominal issues, and it’s unknown whether he’ll be back available for the semi-finals.

Fellow back-rower Halton then failed a HIA, so he will definitely not be involved next week.

And, perhaps the worst of all from a Leopards point of view, winger Charnley was stretchered off following a lengthy delay with a neck injury which looked particularly nasty.

Judging on the evidence we’ve seen, wherever they end up next week, it could be a depleted Leigh side.