Super League has rather impatiently been waiting for a new first-time champion for far too long. You have to go back more than two decades – to Leeds Rhinos in 2004 – to find the last time a new team won the Grand Final for the first time.
There is still a long way to go and there is another team in the shape of the current league leaders, Hull KR, who would fancy ending that wait come October. But right now, it is impossible to argue against Leigh Leopards being viewed as bona fide title contenders and another who could lift the Super League title aloft for the first time this year.
At a time when rugby league has once again closed the door on promotion and relegation between Super League and the Championship, Leigh’s journey is a timely reminder as to how that may not be such a clever idea. Three years ago to the day, they were beating Dewsbury Rams in the second tier on the way to promotion.
Now, Adrian Lam’s side are deservedly in the mix for a first league title since 1982. This small Lancashire town has been reinvigorated. A month ago, they conceded 50 points against Leeds and with games against Hull KR, Wigan and St Helens on the horizon, it was easy to wonder if they could fade out of the playoff mix altogether.
But wins in all of those games, the latest another statement success here to ensure a first win at St Helens in evermore than 40 years, have propelled them firmly into the picture for a top-two finish come the playoffs. That comes with immense benefits; the opening weekend off, plus a home semi-final to boot.
That Leigh are now just one point behind second-placed Wigan and three behind Hull KR is credit to the work Lam and his side have done. Here, they were magnificent from start to finish, with two tries from Joe Ofahengaue capping a measured and outstanding performance.
They have all the hallmarks of a champion team. “We’ve worked really hard on performances like that,” Lam admitted post-match. “It’s been a tough month but we’ve been fantastic. We’re so connected as a group, which I love.”
Had the Saints made it six wins in succession here, it would have been Paul Wellens’ side in pole position to chase down the top two of Hull KR and Wigan. But this was a backwards step for them, with their attack poor all evening.
Harry Robertson’s try in the final seconds was mere consolation, though it did spare them from being nilled at home in the Super League era for the first time. “I thought on the balance of play, Leigh deserved that victory,” Wellens said. “This was a timely reminder that we’ve still got some work to do.”
Leigh led 4-0 at half-time courtesy of two penalties from Gareth O’Brien. It was a tight, intense affair that felt like a playoff match but whereas the Saints opted to go for tries from their prime attacking penalties, the Leopards kicked for goal on three occasions, and O’Brien converted two of them.
The first try always felt as though it would be crucial. And as the game entered the final quarter, Leigh scored it as Ofahengaue cut through on the angle to give O’Brien a simple conversion to make it 10-0. Any sort of response from the Saints was muted, and when Ofahengaue scored his second with five minutes left, there would be no way back.
Robertson’s consolation at least spared the Saints from setting one unwanted record, but this was a night all about their opposition and what they could achieve in the months ahead.
