Late tries help Leigh see off Huddersfield

Betfred Super League

Leigh (6) 24

Tries: Brand, Armstrong, Davis, Niu Goals: O'Brien 4

Huddersfield (8) 10

Tries: Wilson Goals: Flanagan 3

Leigh Leopards scored two late tries to finally see off the challenge of Huddersfield Giants and make it two wins out of two at the start of the 2025 Super League season.

An error by Giants' Elliot Wallis leading to a Matt Davis try and Tesi Niu's finish in the closing stages saw Adrian Lam's side close out a hard-fought victory.

Keanan Brand had put Leigh in front early on but they trailed 8-6 at half-time after Oliver Wilson responded for the visitors.

Giants debutant George Flanagan stretched the lead to 10-6 early in the second period before David Armstrong's try shifted the momentum firmly towards Leigh, with the two late scores putting gloss on the result.

Leigh have won their opening two matches in the 2025 Super League season

Leigh won their opening game in golden point extra time against reigning champions Wigan after the sides played out the first 0-0 draw in the competition's 29-year history and were made to work hard to maintain their 100% record.

They went in front with their first try of the season after eight minutes when Brad Dwyer fed Lachlan Lam who sent a looped pass over a static defence for Brand to catch and dive over.

Huddersfield then began to up the pressure on Leigh and were rewarded after 23 minutes when Zac Woolford stabbed a kick over the line that was dived on by Wilson.

Flanagan's boot edged Giants 6-4 in front and the visitors maintained their dominance as Leigh began to make errors under pressure, with a tip tackle by Edwin Ipape on Matty English allowing Flanagan to make it 8-4 with a penalty.

But Huddersfield made an unnecessary mistake of their own shortly before half-time when an off-the-ball block on Lam as he chased a kick gave Leigh a penalty in front of the posts which was slotted over by Gareth O'Brien to make it 8-6 at the break.

George Flanagan kicked six points on his Huddersfield debut

Leigh gave away a penalty within a minute of the restart and Flanagan knocked over a simple kick to push the lead out to four points again.

But just a few moments later the Leopards showed their attacking flair as O'Brien popped a pass to Armstrong who picked a wonderful line through the Giants defence to sprint over from 30 metres and level the scores at 10-10.

It visibly lifted the Leopards and their energy levels as Huddersfield were twice shifted back several metres in the tackle and Alec Tuitavake was held up over the line before O'Brien slotted a penalty on 51 minutes to nudge Leigh in front.

Then came the game's crucial moment as with 13 minutes remaining and just two points separating the teams, Wallis dropped the ball near his own line and O'Brien scooped up the loose ball and fed Davis who crashed over next to the posts.

Armstrong, impressive whenever he found space, again broke the line with five minutes remaining before offloading to Niu to score his first Super League try for Leigh.

Post-match reaction

Leigh head coach Adrian Lam told BBC Radio Merseyside:

"It was tough to watch at times but you get that in these conditions - from the minute you had yellow warnings about hurricane winds and rain it makes me nervous because it levels the game doesn't it?

"That's why during the game we probably took more two-pointers than we would normally have taken. But I'm proud of the players for being able to hang in there through that difficult first half and get to half-time in decent shape.

"I think the way that wind was, was only going to be to our advantage in the second half. I'm glad the fans came out in big numbers."

Huddersfield head coach Luke Robinson told BBC Radio Leeds:

"I'm gutted to be honest because I think we were in the game. The effort and desire that the players put in was unbelievable and hopefully the fans and everybody else realise what a tight-knit group they are and how much they care about each other and the team.

"There were key moments in the game that we just didn't handle very well and I don't think our game management was any good. When you learn you have to learn pretty quick.

"I thought we were sensational in the first 30 [minutes] we were on top and then they had a purple patch before half-time and we just didn't manage it very well. We were masters of our own downfall."

Leigh: Armstrong, Brand, Niu, Hanley, Hodgson, O'Brien, Lam, Trout, Dwyer, Mulhern, Halton, O'Neill, Liu.

Interchanges: Hughes, Tuitavake, Davis, Ipape, Brogan.

Huddersfield: Gagai, Swift, Hewitt, Bibby, Wallis, Flanagan, Lolohea, Burgess, Woolford, Wilson, Greenwood, Murchie, Cudjoe.

Interchanges: Golding, English, Rogers, Billington, Deakin.

Referee: Marcus Griffiths.