Leigh Leopards player ratings in Salford Red Devils victory as Josh Charnley hits milestone

Leigh Leopards claimed a third win of the 2024 Super League season on Friday night, beating Salford Red Devils 40-12 on home soil.

Here are our Leopards player ratings from the Round 11 clash at the Leigh Sports Village…

Matt Moylan – 8

Facing probably the best kicker of a ball in Super League in Marc Sneyd, Moylan dealt well with every high bomb and stopped a sure-fire Salford try in the first-half as he kicked a ball dead before Ethan Ryan could ground it. The Australian also went two from four off the tee himself and supported Leigh well in attack, as always.

Umyla Hanley – 8

We’ve been among Hanley’s biggest admirers since he got his chance at Leigh this season, and he shone again tonight with two fine tries the cherry on top of a well-rounded performance. Hanley’s second try in particular was excellent, showing a nice burst of pace to get over in the corner under pressure.

Zak Hardaker – 7

If Hardaker is off to Hull FC, then this is the type of performance Leigh will want to see from Hardaker until the end of the season. Like the rest of his team-mates, the veteran didn’t really put a foot wrong, and was involved in the tackle which saw the ball dislodged and ultimately led to the opening try. He took conversions in the second half, too, and went 100% with the boot.

Ricky Leutele – 7

Very much following along the same lines, centre partner Leutele was a rock, as per. This was a game in which he didn’t do anything spectacular, just did his job and did it very well. One of the best around across Super League in his position, in our humble opinion.

Josh Charnley – 9

We’re convinced Charnley will never, ever lose his scoring knack, and tonight he hit the milestone of 300 career tries in fine fashion with a brace. Neither of his finishes were straight forward, with the second an acrobatic effort under pressure from a Salford defender. Composed in defence, too, as you’d expect. Just remarkable.

Ben McNamara – 8

When you’re playing alongside Lachlan Lam, there are very, very few halves in the world that aren’t going to be the supporting cast, but McNamara played that role superbly tonight. He wasn’t the one pulling the strings, but he just popped up in the right position more or less every time Leigh needed him, the best example his assist on the try-line for Matt Davis.

Lachlan Lam – 9

Papua New Guinean playmaker Lam shares our man of the match with Charnley, and if we’re honest, he’d probably pip him if we had to choose. In trademark fashion, the playmaker just orchestrated everything, with assists galore, smart kicks where needed and passes picked perfectly. He got the try his performance deserved towards the end as well.

Tom Amone – 8

Amone is just a powerhouse, it’s that simple. It takes some effort to stop him when he gets going, and every player who’s come up against him over the last 18 months in particular will tell you that. He wasn’t one of the standouts for the Leopards tonight, but is still filly deserving of his 8, and the collective sigh of relief from Salford as he was withdrawn after a 50-minute stint tells you that.

Edwin Ipape – 6

A 6 may well be slightly harsh on Ipape, but it’s only through the manner in which his team-mates ran riot while he was off the field that it’s slightly lower. The PNG ace came off 26 minutes in, and didn’t go back on, but still managed to cause some havoc for Salford in that stint at the beginning of the game.

Robbie Mulhern – 7

When Leigh started to run away with it, we thought we were at some point going to see Mulhern power his way over for a try. It didn’t happen, but he’s another absolute unit that so rarely lets Leigh down, and this evening was no different. His stints tonight were shorter than usual, but he still had a great impact.

Kai O’Donnell – 7

It’s pretty much the same story for the rest of Leigh’s forwards now, who won’t get the headlines after this one, but still deserve a good amount of credit. So often, it was their threat which drew Salford men out of the line and opened space up, and in defence, they’re so hard to get past when they’re on form. Tonight was one of those nights, and O’Donnell is one of those forwards.

Frankie Halton – 7

Local lad Halton rarely gets highlighted, but he’s a consistent performer and in recent weeks, has levelled up his game even further in our opinion. He does the type of work that typically goes unnoticed, putting his body on the line and edging Leigh forward whenever he has the ball in hand. Solid.

Owen Trout – 7

Trout is another whose game has come on quite considerably over the last few weeks, with the work that Adrian Lam and his coaching staff put in with him on the training pitch there for all to see. It’s a tough ask to try and slot in for captain John Asiata, but he did so seamlessly.

Brad Dwyer (Interchange) – 8

Leigh getting Dwyer in permanently might be the best bit of business they’ve done recently, he offers them a new dynamic coming off the bench, and was electric tonight. His own try, and the dummy half run which teed Lam up, were the two memorable moments, but he just caused problems for Salford every time he got on the ball. Third in our MOTM poll* (done ourselves*).

Matt Davis (Interchange) – 7

Another terrific impact off the bench came from Davis, whose utility value is superb. ‘Electric’ is a word we could use about a lot of the Leopards’ squad this evening, and he’s no different. The try he scored couldn’t have been put on a plate more, but it takes more than luck to get into those positions.

Jack Hughes (Interchange) – 7

It feels very ‘copy and paste’, but Hughes tonight was everything you want from a big forward coming on for you off the bench, energising Leigh when they needed it most. Competition for places comes with big performances from those left out of the starting 13 (and beyond), and he’s surely put his name back in the frame for a start next time out.

Ed Chamberlain (Interchange) – 6

A harsh rating on the face of it, but what we will say is that when he came on with 15 minutes left, Chamberlain didn’t put a foot wrong. 15 minutes isn’t a great deal of time to have a big impact, but Adrian Lam will have liked what he saw in the brief time the centre spent out on the field. He didn’t recall him from his loan at Hull FC for nothing, after all…