Forget the regular season, forget previous games, this was the end of season play-offs as fourth placed Salford Red Devils looked to progress after a great season as they took on a Leigh Leopards side who have cast aside all those in front of them after a terrible start to the season to end up in fifth place.
Despite finishing the season lower in the table, the bookies made the visitors slight favourites as they came into the game on the back of an excellent run of form and handicapped them by two points on the coupon.
Salford won the first 2024 meeting between the two sides back in March by ten points, but have since being thrashed twice by the Leopards, most recently at the Magic Weekend when they lost by 26-0.
It was a rough and tough opening ten minutes with both sides setting out their stall early and demonstrating that they weren’t going to die wondering.
Consecutive sets on the Leigh line proved a strong test for the visitors but they withstood the onslaught, it was turning into a real war of attrition.
Salford looked to have made the breakthrough on twenty-six after Chris Hankinson kicked through, collected and grounded but the try was ruled out, Salford instead getting a penalty for a Gareth O’Brien obstruction. Marc Sneyd pointed at the posts and put his side two ahead.
It was a frantic first half battle which saw the sides hit the sheds with just two points in it, the Sneyd penalty goal, Salford the most disappointed that they couldn’t make field position count.
Back-to-back penalties for Leigh saw them advance downfield early in the second half but this time it was the Salford defence’s turn to hold strong.
On fifty-two the Leopards scored the first try of the night as Josh Charnley grounded acrobatically in the left corner off a Ricky Leutele pass. Matt Moylan was criminally short with his conversion attempt, but the visitors were in the lead.
Six minutes later and the Leopards were in again, this time it was Gareth O’Brien crossing after a brilliant Edwin Ipape break down the centre of the field took Leigh towards the sticks before he floated a pinpoint pass to his scrum half. This time Moylan hit the target, the Leopards with a 10-2 advantage.
A long injury to Charnley on sixty-four saw the Leigh man stretchered off the field but the game was won on sixty-five was Edwin Ipape reversed over the line to force the ball onto the ground on the Salford line. Moylan missed the target but Leigh were continuing their good run and now had more than one eye on a trip to Old Trafford in a fortnights time.
On seventy-six Jack Hughes was yellow carded for taking out the kicker and within a minute Ethan Ryan gathered a Marc Sneyd chip to the corner to dive in for Salford’s first try of the night. Sneyd was unable to add the conversion, Salford still eight adrift with the clock running out to a Leigh victory.
Leigh made it through a tough fixture against a consistently good 2024 Salford to set up a visit to either Hull KR or Wigan Warriors which puts them just eighty minutes away from a Grand Final, and which will instill fear into the hearts of the sides remaining in the competition who know that they can not underestimate Adrian Lam’s side who have just served themselves a massive dallop of self-belief. It was a disappointing end to the season for the Red Devils after exceeding most expectations and comfortably making the top six. Leigh march on.
Salford Red Devils: Hankinson, Ryan (T), Macdonald, Lafai, Cross, Nikorima, Sneyd (1/2 G), Singleton, Mellor, Dudson, Stone, Watkins, Partington. Subs: Lewis, Shorrocks, Wright, Brierley. 18thMan: Bullock.
Leigh Leopards: Moylan (1/3 G), McIntosh, Hanley, Leutele, Charnley (T), O’Brien (T), Lam, Amone, Ipape (T), Mulhern, Hughes (SB on 76), Halton, Asiata. Subs: Dwyer, Hardaker, Pene, Trout. 18th Man: Davis.
Half-Time: 2-0.
Full-Time: 6-14.
Score Progression: 2-0 : HT: 2-4, 2-8, 2-10, 2-14, (SB), 6-14 :FT.
Lead Exchanges: Salford - Leigh.
Referee: Jack Smith.
