Leopards

Wigan said: “At 10.37pm on Tuesday 30 September, our club was informed in writing by Derek Beaumont of Leigh Leopards that they do not intend to fulfil Friday’s scheduled semi-final fixture.

“We can confirm that Leigh Leopards were offered the choice of 4,600 unreserved seats or 5,400 reserved seats in the North Stand.”

Wigan said the allocation had been determined by the independent Safety Advisory Group and the club’s Ground Safety Officer, following consultation with the police.

They said Super League had “sought separate safety advice” and had “fully endorsed this approach”.

Wigan added that the allocation offered was almost double the 10% minimum required for away supporters.

“While we regret that Leigh Leopards found this arrangement unacceptable, our club is legally, and professionally, bound to comply with the directions of our Ground Safety Officer and the conditions of our Ground Safety Certificate,” Wigan’s statement added.

“The safety and welfare of all supporters must come first. This is not open to negotiation and underpins every decision we make.

“We continue to prepare for Friday’s semi-final and will release further information as the situation develops.”

Wigan finished one place and three points above Leigh in the regular season and the winner of Friday’s scheduled match will face either Hull KR or St Helens in the Grand Final at Old Trafford on Saturday, 11 October.

Leigh: Hodgson; Brand, Badrock, Hanley, Charnley; O’Brien, Lam; Trout, Ipape, Mulhern, Halton, Hughes, Liu.

Interchanges: Pene, Davis, Dwyer, Ofahengaue.

St Helens: Sailor; Feldt, Robertson, Percival, Cross; Welsby, Mbye; Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Whitley, Batchelor.

Interchanges: Lomax, Bell, Paasi, Delaney.

Referee: Liam Moore.

Responding to a limp defeat at lowly Castleford Tigers last time out, Warrington showed aggression and energy from the get-go, pinning their hosts deep inside their own territory for much of the opening quarter.

Yet despite their dominant play, steadfast Leigh defence limited them to just two points – Sneyd chipping over a penalty for Joe Ofahengaue’s high tackle on Sam Powell, who had been held up on the line moments earlier.

And having barely set an attacking boot in Wire territory, Leigh were soon level through O’Brien’s penalty for late contact by Wire debutant Ryan Matterson.

Yet order was restored in the 32nd minute when Josh Thewlis, inside his own half on the right wing, cut back into the centre with a breathless run, slaloming through challenges before sending Dufty in under the posts.

If there was hope for a below-par Leigh, and concern for Wire, it was that just one score separated the sides going into the second half.

Sneyd slotted a second penalty before George Williams’ superb kick down the left wing bounced kindly for Jake Thewlis to collect and cross for his eighth Super League try of the season.

Leading 14-2 with 15 minutes left, Dufty had a second score – and a potential decider – overturned by the video referee following a Lachlan Fitzgibbon obstruction.

And two minutes later, and having barely troubled the Warrington line, Leigh were back in it when Hanley stretched out to touch down O’Brien’s deflected grubber kick.

O’Brien’s conversion brought the Leopards back within six points, but Sneyd’s dead-eye penalty from long distance again took the visitors two scores clear.

But once again after a Warrington score was ruled out after a video review – this time from Toby King – Hanley powered through for a second try and O’Brien’s conversion cut the gap to 16-14.

Wire were suddenly hanging on and buckled moments later as Trout capped his 100th Super League appearance with the winning score from close range.

Prop Joe Ofahengaue scored both Leigh Leopards tries as his side pulled off their first victory at St Helens since 1982 and kept up the pressure on Super League’s top two.

Ofahengaue crossed midway through the second half to provide the Leopards with some breathing space after two Gareth O’Brien penalties had put them 4-0 up at the break.

Saints, who went into the game on the back of five straight victories, enjoyed plenty of possession but could not break down Leigh’s gritty defence.

Ofahengaue capitalised to grab a second try after Kyle Feldt spilled Lachlan Lam’s kick and, although Harry Robertson belatedly put Saints on the scoresheet, it was too late to prevent the Leopards moving to within a point of second-placed Wigan.

The two sides traded blows during a lively, yet scoreless opening 20 minutes – although video referee Jack Smith was called to adjudicate three times in quick succession on possible tries.

Saints’ Owen Dagnall, stretching to reach Tristan Sailor’s kick, was unable to make a clean connection and Leopards full-back Bailey Hodgson’s quick thinking to ground the ball denied the home side again, sandwiching a disallowed score for Ofahengaue.

Leigh – who had overcome league leaders Hull KR and Wigan in their two most recent outings – soaked up pressure well but errors going forward, from O’Brien and Edwin Ipape, slowed their progress.

Eventually, it was O’Brien who broke the deadlock, landing a successful kick from 35 yards after Saints scrum-half Moses Mbye had been penalised for interference.

O’Brien put another penalty attempt wide following a foul by Feldt, but his next – a routine kick just before the interval – was successful after St Helens had been rattled by Tesi Niu’s barnstorming tackle to drag Sailor out of touch.

Saints looked the sharper side after the turnaround, working the ball from left to right and Alex Walmsley’s charge down the middle carried them close to the try-line, only for Leigh’s tenacious defence to hold firm again.

Having unsuccessfully challenged a knock-on against Jonny Lomax, the home side conceded a penalty and Leigh broke clear, with O’Brien’s short-range pass setting up Ofahengaue to wriggle over between the posts.

Ipape might have wrapped up the victory, racing away on the counter-attack but failing to find Lam – and instead it was Ofahengaue who made the points safe, pouncing on Feldt’s fumble and bursting over the line.

Saints at least averted the indignity of a blank scoresheet on their own turf, with Robertson going over in the corner in the final minute, but it was not enough to deny rampant Leigh their sixth win in seven games.

St Helens head coach Paul Wellens told BBC Radio Merseyside:

“It was a tough night. Opportunities were quite limited out there – what I can’t fault is the players’ effort, that was there in abundance and has been for a number of weeks.

“But it’s probably a timely reminder that we need to handle certain moments better on both sides of the ball because they are crucial in big games like that.

“We’ve got to take our lessons from this. It’s been great winning in the last few weeks but when you get beat in a game like that and there hasn’t been a lack of effort, there’s been a lack of something else.

“Maybe we were a little bit conservative at times. In big games you’re going to need to nail opportunities and it took us until the 79th minute to do that.”

Leigh head coach Adrian Lam told BBC Radio Manchester:

“That’s three in a row for us against some really big clubs. We didn’t play the style we wanted to tonight but we adjusted – it was very physical and defence-orientated, but we got through it. That’s a real positive sign that we can adjust on the run.

“There were times when we made a few simple, basic errors but the way we rallied defensively was awesome. I didn’t think Saints were going to score tonight until that last play.

“We hadn’t won here for 43 years and we had to come here and defend and be physical and we did all of that. We’re in control of how it ends for us this season and we’re still striving to climb that ladder.

“He (Joe Ofahengaue)’s a try-scorer, his effort areas are as good as any in the game and he’s there or thereabouts all the time. He’s massive for us, he’s been a great leader and certainly helped the group.”

Wardle pierced the Leopards’ resistance after just five minutes, taking a short cut-out pass from Jai Field to dot down for the first time since grabbing a try in Wigan’s last win against Leigh in May.

The score from the decorated centre came in a week that he was called up for an England squad get-together that has had national team boss Shaun Wane calling for greater intensity from Super League’s biggest names as they prepare to take on Australia in the autumn Test series.

The clash of regional rivals delivered on Wane’s demand for a “low-scoring” game which has “teams going at it”.

While Leigh were kept scoreless in the first half, they went close through Frankie Halton, who failed to ground his finish after racing onto a grubber kick from Ipape, while Charnley should have done better to link up with Hodgson when in a promising position after breaking clear.

Leigh finally got their chance to respond thanks to Harry Smith’s attempted 40-20 kick that went long and out on the full.

The hosts made the most getting the ball back inside Wigan’s half, with Tonga international Niu weaving his way over from close range following clever work from Ipape and Lachlan Lam.

Ipape then went over himself at the end of a free-flowing move, with the ball passing through multiple hands before Umyla Hanley sent him clear to touch down under the posts.

And after Charnley had a try of his own ruled out – which would have been the 250th of his career in Super League – Trout profited from an in-goal fumble from Wigan’s defence as they tried to mop up the danger created by a Ipape kick in the final minute.