Leigh hoping to have key signing back for Hull trip

Leigh coach Adrian Lam says off-season recruit Oliver Holmes is in contention to return from injury in Saturday’s clash at Hull.

The 30-year-old forward has not played since their opening round fixture against Salford due to injury.

Holmes will have a fitness test later this week to determine whether or not he plays against Hull on Saturday afternoon.

When asked about potential returnees for the Hull game, Lam told Love Rugby League: “There’s only Oliver Holmes that comes into consideration for that. That’s it so far.

“We don’t have the biggest squad in Super League but thats okay, I’m really happy with the players that are playing and we’re getting better every week.

“We are going to give him until captain’s run on Friday. He trained half the session today, we’ll see how he pulls up tomorrow and he has got that final session on Friday.

“He has got a lot of experience so it will be good if he’s available for us in the sense of giving us that little bit more leadership within the group.”

Recruitment update

Lam says the club are always on the lookout to make more signings to bolster their squad, but says there won’t be any imminent arrivals at the Leigh Sports Village.

He said: “I’m always in communication with the hierarchy here and Chris Chester (head of rugby) is the immediate one here so everyday we are meeting about it.

“There are a few names that have come up, it’s just important that you keep growing what you have.

“For us, it has been a real tricky one through the 2022 season in the Championship how we got the squad good enough to compete at Super League but then good enough to stay up and keep growing this over the next three or four years, so that has been the challenge all along and nothing’s changed with that mentality in the first quarter of the season.

“We’re always in negotiations with players and agents just to make sure that we get the right players that become available.”

A good start for Leigh

The newly-promoted Leopards are currently sat ninth in the Super League table, having won two from five so far, including a win over the champions St Helens.

Lam says he is pleased with his side’s start to the season, but believes there is much more to come.

He added: “I’ve felt like we’ve built a really good base on who we want to be as a club.

“There’s a lot of learning to do along the way and it has been really enjoyable for me so far because with so many new faces in the group, it has been a challenge to bring them together but more importantly, getting them to be consistent.

“We aren’t quite there yet hence the up and down start but we got that first win out of the way which I felt there was a bit of pressure on that but we backed it up with a great win against Saints.

“Every game I felt we were in at some point but due to us making errors or losing control of a few areas, I certainly think we could be in a different place on the ladder.”

Leigh travel to Hull in Round Six of Super League on Saturday afternoon, 3pm kick-off.

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