Super League: Leigh Leopards 20-12 St Helens - Leigh fight back to beat champions
- Published
Zak Hardaker joined Leigh after appearing for Leeds in the Rhinos' Grand Final loss to St Helens last season
Betfred Super League |
|---|
Leigh (0) 20 |
Tries: Charnley, Briscoe, Hardaker, Shorrocks Goals: Hardaker 2 |
St Helens (12) 12 |
Tries: Lomax, Bennison Goals: Makinson 2 |
Leigh Leopards rallied from 12-0 down to score four tries and beat St Helens.
First-half tries from Jonny Lomax and Jon Bennison gave the champions control before Josh Charnley replied for Leigh.
The game turned when Saints prop Matty Lees was sin-binned for a swinging arm in a tackle and Leigh immediately scored through winger Tom Briscoe.
They used their man advantage again to send centre Zak Hardaker over to take the lead, before a grubber kick fell for Joe Shorrocks to seal victory.
Leigh's second win of the Super League season required a remarkable comeback, the Leopards having trailed by 12 points at half-time to the newly-crowned World Club Challenge champions.
Saints opened the scoring as Lomax kicked to the right corner, Tommy Makinson rose highest and knocked the ball back for Lomax who twisted and touched down.
Bennison then went over for his first try of the new season but Leigh, who had threatened in the first half, responded after the break with Charnley taking a long pass to score in the corner.
With Lees off the field and Saints down to 12 players, the home side seized their chance.
A kick to the right corner fell for Briscoe to get them right back in the game, and they quickly went ahead as Hardaker stepped inside and past some poor tackling to score before adding the extras with his boot.
And with time running down, a grubber kick was not dealt with by Saints and second-row Shorrocks - on loan at Leigh from St Helens' long-time rivals Wigan - pounced to seal victory.
Leigh coach Adrian Lam:
"I am very pleased though I was frustrated at half-time. I felt confident that if we could get hold of the ball we would score points.
"I thought some things were in place and we defended tough, it was a positive that we were only 12-0 down at half-time.
"It's a step forward for the group. Saints were down on troops and it was probably a good time to play them after their recent trip to Australia. It's an amazing night for the club and hopefully it will bring the playing group together.
"This is a great moment for the club and the town. There were nearly 8,000 in the stadium and every game feels like an event with people talking about it every week. Hopefully, crowds will keep getting bigger and bigger."
St Helens head coach Paul Wellens told BBC Radio Merseyside:
"I think there was a lack of composure and discipline. At the start of the game there were improvements but we fell into that trap again and it's a lesson we've got to learn quickly.
"The sin-bin is certainly a big moment in the match and when you play the game on the edge like Matty and you get one slightly wrong, you pay the price."
Leigh: O'Brien; Briscoe, Hardaker, Leutele, Charnley; Reynolds, Lam; Amone, Davis, Mulhern, Shorrocks, O'Donnell, Asiata.
Interchanges: Nakubuwai, Seumanufagai, Chamberlain, Ipape.
St Helens: Welsby; Makinson, Davies, Percival, Bennison; Lomax, Dodd; Pa'asi, Roby, Lees, Royle, Bell, Knowles.
Interchanges: Walmsley, Lussick, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Wingfield.
Referee: Aaron Moore