Leigh survive scare to beat Catalans and go third

Betfred Super League

Catalans Dragons (6) 12

Tries: Pangai Junior, Makinson Goals: Makinson 2

Leigh Leopards (12) 26

Tries: Niu, Brand, Ofahengaue, Armstrong Goals: O'Brien 5

Joe Ofahengaue and David Armstrong scored late tries as Leigh Leopards beat Catalans Dragons 26-12 to go third in Super League.

Catalans had come from 12-0 down to level through tries from Tevita Pangai Junior and Tommy Makinson but fell to a sixth consecutive league defeat.

Tesi Niu and Keanan Brand had both crossed to help give Leigh a half-time lead.

Leigh ran away with the game when Pangai Junior was sent to the sin-bin for a late tackle, but Gareth O'Brien's performance with the boot was crucial as he scored a penalty before full-time to add to his four conversions.

Victory lifts Leigh a point above Leeds, who lost at St Helens on Friday, in the race for the play-offs.

Makinson missed the chance to put the Dragons in front when he missed the target with a penalty from inside 30 metres.

Instead it was Leigh who went in front when Niu ran in following a wonderful catch and pass from Lachlan Lam which allowed Armstrong to break through the defence and create the opportunity on the left.

Lam was involved again as Leigh added a second six minutes from the break when he found Brand in the right corner for an easy touch down.

On the stroke of half-time, Pangai Junior bulldozed his way through the defence near the posts to get the Dragons back into the game, with Makinson making no mistake with his kick.

Catalans started the second half with real purpose and levelled when Oliver Partington, Luke Keary and Sam Tomkins were involved in a swift move which was finished by Makinson, who converted his own score.

Makinson then missed what looked to be a straightforward penalty to take the lead, and it proved pivotal 10 minutes later when Pangai Junior was sent to the bin for a late tackle.

O'Brien's kick from the resulting penalty hit the post and Lam reacted first, setting in motion a move which eventually saw Ofahengaue cross the line.

Moments later, Armstrong ran clear to secure the win in the corner before O'Brien made sure by adding the conversion and then a penalty as the hooter sounded for full-time.

Leigh secured a 10th Super League win of the season in Perpignan

'It's in our hands now' - reaction

Catalans Dragons interim head coach Joel Tomkins:

"It was a big improvement for us, obviously we're not happy with the result, but I wasn't happy with large elements of the game.

"Our effort and attitude was good, our application at times during the game we need to improve on though.

"We made some dumb decisions in both attack and defence, but we asked for a better attitude and more effort this week and I certainly think that we got that.

"There is a lot for us to work on, we will take the positives, but I am not happy with the performance."

Leigh head coach Adrian Lam:

"It's a difficult challenge to come here and get the two points and we made it tough for ourselves at times, but we hung in there and showed resilience and we found a way to win.

"There were defining moments in that game where it could have gone either way, but we seem to be winning those big moments right now which is a big part of being where we are on the league ladder.

"It's still early days and every club in that top six now has to play each other so everyone's in a similar situation.

"But it's in our hands now. We're in a position we've probably never been in before as a club, close to the top of the competition.

"We want to set our sights above and those big decisive games will come in the next six to eight matches. We're looking forward to it."

Catalans Dragons: Tomkins, Makinson, Laguerre, Darrelatour, Cotric, Keary, Rouge, Satae, Da Costa, Maria, Romano, Seguier, Partington

Interchanges: Pangai Juniorr, Bousquet, Sironen, Dezaria

Leigh Leopards: Armstrong, McIntosh, Niu, Hanley, Brand, O'Brien, Lam, Ofahengaue, Ipape, Mulhern, Halton, Trout, Liu

Interchanges: Tuitavake, Davis, O'Neill, McNamara

Referee: Liam Rush