Leigh Leopards coach Adrian Lam makes play-off admission ahead of crunch St Helens clash

Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam admits he’d have ‘bitten your hand off’ to be in the position they’re in now three months ago, with their fate regarding a play-off finish in their own hands ahead of the final round of the regular campaign.

The Leopards suffered their second defeat in 11 matches – and their first on home soil since early April – as they lost 24-0 to title contenders Hull KR on Friday night.

It was just the second time in Lam’s near three-year tenure that Leigh have been kept scoreless, with his side left needing a result in their final game against St Helens this coming Friday evening (September 20) to secure a top six spot.

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Leigh Leopards coach Adrian Lam makes play-off admission ahead of crunch St Helens clash

Following the rest of the weekend’s action, the Leythers head into that final game against Saints knowing that a win will definitely see them make the play-offs for the second season on the spin.

What’s more, a win would actually see them move above Saints and finish 5th, with a trip to Salford Red Devils then likely on the cards in the first stage of the play-offs.

A defeat against Saints though, and the Leopards will likely miss out, with both Leeds Rhinos – who fae KR – and Catalans Dragons – who take on Hull FC – just one competition point behind them and primed to leapfrog them into the top six.

Following that defeat against KR on Friday night, Lam said: “Halfway through the season, if you’d have said to me, ‘I’ll give you a match against St Helens at home in the last game of the season for you to make the six’, I’d have bitten your hand off with where we were 12 weeks ago.

“We’ve worked really hard to put ourselves in a position to have that opportunity, and earned the right to have a last game at home to make the top six.

“There’s an opportunity there now, and it doesn’t guarantee us anything, but it (the Saints game) is going to be a real ding-dong battle. It’s going to be a really physical match with a lot of importance on it.

“The way we’ve played in this second half of the season has been unbelievable, and I’m grateful for that.

“I’ve just been in the dressing room saying that it (the defeat to KR) doesn’t make us a bad team overnight. We’ve still got that confidence and trust there.

“In the end, this can be a benefit for us if we make sure that we take something from it.”

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