Leigh will still be sweating on the fitness of plenty of star men in the build-up to next weekend’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Warrington Wolves, Leopards boss Adrian Lam has confirmed. The Leopards edged out a thriller against Catalans Dragons in the first game of Magic Weekend on Saturday afternoon, winning 26-24 at St James’ Park. They earned that victory without a plethora of their usual key men though, losing more players ahead of their clash with the Dragons having already been low on numbers. Post-match in the North East, Lam delivered an injury update, reeling off the long list of absentees that Leigh could well still remain without next weekend as they bid to book a return to Wembley. When asked about the absentees’ chances of making the semi-final, he detailed: “Davey Armstrong is 50/50, Umyla Hanley is probably 60/40 to play. “Keanan Brand is 50/50, Frankie Halton is 50/50, Aaron Pene is probably not likely. (Alec) Tuitavake is 50/50 and Jack Hughes is 50/50. “That’s about it I think, there’s about eight of them (that are doubts). “It’s going to be a massive week for us and we’re pretty excited about that now.” Lam revealed that one unnamed player had withdrawn from their Magic clash against Catalans in the dressing room ahead of kick-off, and was subsequently asked whether he can afford to leave selection choices so late for their cup semi. The Papua New Guinean said: “I might have to on one or two of them, but I think I want to go into the game with a fit team as opposed to five or six 50/50s. “It’s a massive moment in time and game for our club. We were successful two years ago, and we want to be in that position again with an opportunity to travel down to Wembley. “We’re up against a great club and a great team that have been strong for a very long time. They’ve got their own niggling injuries that they need to deal with as well, but we’re not going to worry too much about them, because we’ve got our own. “It’ll be an incredible game and I think it’ll be one that gets decided in the last ten minutes or so.” © Planet Sport Limited 2025 • All Rights Reserved WHICH Super League stars make League Express’ Team of the Week? 1. Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet – Catalans Dragons A few wonder touches from Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet in defeat against Leigh. 2. Lachlan Walmsley – Wakefield Trinity Was terrific for Wakefield with two superb finishes and a try-saving tackle in the first-half against Castleford. Another devastating display from Hull KR’s number 3 against Salford. Made the difference on the edges for Wigan against Warrington. Came in due to injuries along the Leeds backline and performed admirably. Another game another fine Mikey Lewis performance. 10. Mike McMeeken – Wakefield Trinity Another superb captain’s knock in the big win over Castleford. Strong as an ox for Leeds against St Helens. 12. Leroy Cudjoe – Huddersfield Giants Another powerful performance from the veteran in a shock win over Hull. A debut to remember for Joe Ofahengaue in the tough win over Catalans. Proved more than an able deputy for the injured David Armstrong in the win over Catalans. Was irrepressible through the middle against Salford. 16. George Flanagan – Huddersfield Giants A superb display from the youngster against Hull FC. Watch highlights as Leigh Leopards beat Catalans Dragons in a Magic Weekend classic to move second in Super League MATCH REPORT: McNamara leads Leigh to victory over dad's Dragons Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRead descriptionEditor's recommendationsLeigh beat Catalans in Magic Weekend classic 00:05:31Leigh beat Catalans in Magic Weekend classic 5:31Up Next Messi 'does stuff that normal humans can't do' Video 00:02:26Messi 'does stuff that normal humans can't do' 2:26Was this the greatest transfer window of all time 00:01:41Was this the greatest transfer window of all time 1:41Watch: Fan catches ball while daughter covers his eyes 00:00:19Watch: Fan catches ball while daughter covers his eyes 0:19'It's hard to watch' - Solskjaer discusses Man Utd woes 00:02:02'It's hard to watch' - Solskjaer discusses Man Utd woes 2:02Moyes & Pickford share favourite Goodison Park memories 00:01:06Moyes & Pickford share favourite Goodison Park memories 1:06Five things to know before Miami Grand Prix 00:01:51Five things to know before Miami Grand Prix 1:51Nobody expected this - Amorim on first-leg win in Bilbao 00:01:34Nobody expected this - Amorim on first-leg win in Bilbao 1:34Maresca praises 16-year-old Chelsea debutant Walsh 00:01:08Maresca praises 16-year-old Chelsea debutant Walsh 1:08Beckham at 50: His first taste of Man Utd 00:01:28Beckham at 50: His first taste of Man Utd 1:28'He's quite fussy!' - meet the craftsman who makes O'Sullivan's cues Video 00:02:09'He's quite fussy!' - meet the craftsman who makes O'Sullivan's cues 2:09Yamal is a genius Illustration: Edward Carvalho-Monaghan/The GuardianJohn F Kennedy once called space-faring “the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which Man has ever embarked”. We go to space because, he said – like George Mallory said of his reason to conquer Everest – “it is there.” While it is truer to say that the race for space between Washington and Moscow was driven as much by cold war competition as by humanity’s pioneering spirit and the imperatives of scientific exploration, billions of ordinary people around the world recognized as much at the time and still were able to marvel at our species’ accomplishments in the heavens regardless of the flag under which they were achieved, from Sputnik to the moon landing. These space-critical partisans view the endeavour as a dangerous fantasy that distracts from the need to fix this world while delivering yet another source of carbon pollution and “extractivism” finding “root in the exact colonial logics that have justified settler genocide for centuries” Whatever subject the billionaire is excited about too many progressives – often just as extremely online as Musk – can respond only with mocking scorn (The snark also just wildly misunderstands what the purpose of these test launches is When we push at the boundaries of what is currently technologically possible and development of cheap access to space is very much at that frontier The aim of these failures is to find the weak points SpaceX in particular uses a fast iteration model – build beneath the social-media clout-chasing cynicism and careerist academic-niche building there is a more serious critique from many progressives that underlies it often tied to environmental and social concerns Space-faring is a Peter Pan fantasy that imagines we can escape the human condition a colossally expensive distraction from terrestrial injustices We should stop polluting our planet before we head off to pollute another one Why spend billions to send a handful of people to the moon while billions of other people still don’t have clean drinking water Anti-space ideology amounts to a critique that unwittingly embraces a politics of neoliberal austerity while ironically undermining our ability to deal with the manifold ecological and social crises we faceKim Stanley Robinson one of the world’s best-selling science fiction authors insists his novels about the failures of colonies on Mars and the moon and of interstellar “generation starships” heading out beyond the solar system are in fact all “climate fiction” or “cli-fi” aiming to teach the reader the lesson that space will never be anything other than viciously inhospitable In 2021, Jeff Bezos the billionaire owner of Amazon and private space firm Blue Origin offered the 90-year-old actor William Shatner a trip into space the star of Star Trek said: “Everything I had thought was wrong Everything I had expected to see was wrong.” He had thought humanity heading out into space was “the next beautiful step for our species” no majestic awe to behold … all I saw was death.” Even Captain Kirk is telling us we must abandon our dreams of the final frontier But for all its purported sobriety in the face of Musk fanboys and Jetsonian techno-utopianism anti-space ideology amounts to a critique that unwittingly embraces a politics of neoliberal austerity while ironically undermining our ability to deal with the manifold ecological and social crises we face space-faring is much more likely to succeed under the economics of the left than that of the right The climatologist James Hansen’s congressional testimony in the late 1980s about global heating was perhaps what first catalysed public and political opinion on the subject but it was his research into Venus and its runaway greenhouse effect that inspired his investigations into climate change on Earth Nasa’s Landsat program that uses satellites to remotely sense the Earth allows researchers to monitor deforestation and the spread of oil spills; to track greenhouse gas emissions to forecast droughts and to test the accuracy of climate models We would not be able to combat global heating pollution and so many other environmental challenges without space-faring Going to space is in fact taking care of problems on Earth first improving our ability to get to space will improve our ability to perform such Earth systems monitoring – and thus to deal with climate change and other environmental crises And Landsat and other historic remote sensing efforts are only the beginning of what space-based monitoring will be able to contribute to solving the many ecological crises we face Perhaps the single biggest contributor to biodiversity loss is not hunting both in terms of its gargantuan land footprint and the inputs it uses But the miniaturisation of satellites and the sharp drop in payload costs is already enabling the next generation of farming to radically reduce this sector’s outsized contribution to species extinction The transformation comes from how remote-sensing can identify the threat of pests and crop defects much earlier and Space science is a powerful weapon against the next major pandemic and against the smaller scale pandemics we currently struggle withThis means that less land will be required for the same output. A 2023 World Economic Forum analysis estimated that satellite-assisted irrigation improvement alone When one considers that agriculture uses almost two-thirds of global freshwater withdrawals Space-based remote sensing also is not limited to protecting ecosystems tracking the consequences of government policies and dozens of other more directly socio-economic phenomena have strong spatial dimensions that make space-based remote sensing indispensable more advanced ability to understand mosquito distribution and likelihood of helminth (parasitic worm) infections – widespread in many parts of Africa and Asia and of many other infectious (and non-infectious) diseases likewise would be unimaginable without these eyes in the sky It’s a powerful weapon against the next major pandemic and against the smaller-scale pandemics we currently struggle with Opposing space-faring thus unwittingly inhibits all this crucial activity for all of Musk’s cheerleading of the free market much if not most of this work has historically been publicly funded and shepherded by public space agencies – and necessarily so as such efforts would have been far too risky for profit-seeking enterprises which need to be confident that there will be a healthy return on investment SpaceX has been showered with billions in government grants, tax credits, subsidized loans and procurement contracts. It wasn’t really Musk who was the entrepreneur, but the state. Private satellite firms such as Planet Labs that sell their remote sensing services to farmers engineering firms and others who use such imagery and data to engage in real-time monitoring and long-term planning would not be able to do what they do without the pioneering work of government space programs blazing a path to demonstrate the viability of space-faring without need to ensure profitability private space firms can only provide such services as are profitable Yet there is far more that society needs to know from space than merely the information that can make money We can see best what leftwing space policy would mean concretely when we consider the irony of how getting to space more easily has also made the study of space harder specifically from the problem of “satellite pollution” Satellites were once the size of a small car, but with miniaturisation, the instrumentation can now be packed into a device the size of a “Beanie Baby box”, according to those engineers who pioneered the size reduction the cost of launch to low Earth orbit (LEO) has plummeted Nasa’s Space Shuttle ferried its payloads to low Earth orbit (LEO) at cost of $54,000 per kilo but by 2018 SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy had brought that price tag down just $1,500/kg Citigroup projects that this figure will plunge to about $100/kg by 2040 We are only a few years away from space access being cheap and abundant But well before then, astronomers are already complaining that light reflection from the huge increase in the number of satellites threatens their ability to do their job Ensuring that satellites receive an anti-reflective coating only reduces the problem but doesn’t eliminate it as the inevitable increase in collisions also increases the number of fragments of debris astronomers are calling for regulations to introduce a cap on satellite pollution: any new satellite launches must be compensated by reduction in light pollution elsewhere This ensures that the enormous benefit to humanity and our environment that is likely to come from cheap and abundant space access can continue to be pursued without endangering ground-based astronomy Space-faring must remain primarily a public-sector-led endeavor not private profitA public-sector space agency or government has no interest in the proliferation of space junk or light pollution such a cap on satellite pollution would simply be incorporated into the overall mission or legislation But a private-sector firm must ensure continued profitability and if such a cap is likely to threaten such profits then the firm has an incentive to try to prevent its introduction as with cases we are familiar with from every other industry as in the case of Volkswagen’s dieselgate scandal – engage in criminal activity to avoid this threat We are thus faced with Hobson’s choice of the free-market fundamentalist case for space that ignores these negative externalities technophobic leftwing case against space that ignores potential benefits What is absent from the discourse is the Neil Armstrong critique of the commercialization of space This does not argue against private space contractors per se; there have always been private firms servicing public agencies such as General Dynamics A public school doesn’t print its own notebooks or manufacture its own chalkboards What it does say is that space-faring must remain primarily a public-sector-led endeavor surely at least the argument that we should first fix our ailing bridges and crumbling roads makes sense let alone solve the housing and healthcare crises Not only does this forget that space exploration plays a crucial role in solving those very problems such argumentation suffers from an odd acceptance of an austerity mentality in implicitly accepting that there is not enough cash to engage in both space faring and solving these problems at the same time The world can afford a few more spacecraft as well as a few more hospitals, schools and sewage systems at the same time, if only it gave up a few of its bombs. And even at the limit of what social democracy could tax and borrow, we still want wonder, beauty and inspiration, not just bare life. If we cannot have space exploration until every last child on Earth is free from starvation, then neither can we have music or cinema or sport. Leigh Phillips is a science writer and a political journalist Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player ANTO Cacace has skill, power and momentum on his side, says Michael Conlan, and he expects him to beat Leigh Wood convincingly in Saturday night’s IBO super-featherweight rumble at Nottingham Arena. Conlan went toe-to-toe with Wood for the WBO featherweight title in 2023. He out-boxed ‘Leigh-thal’ and was on the brink of a famous victory before he tired late in a breathless 12-rounder and was knocked out in the final round. The West Belfast native sparred Cacace in the preparation for facing Wood and says the ‘Andytown Apache’ has “everything he needs to get the win”. “Anto is skilful, he can punch, he can fight when he needs to fight and he can box when he needs to box,” said Conlan. “The main thing which is leaning into this is momentum. “Leigh Wood has been out of the ring longer than I was. I was 16 months out and he’s 20 months out of the ring. “When he fought me (March 2022), he didn’t fight for a year after that, which was an awful long time. He fought Mauricio Lara in early May the following year and they rematched quite quickly and then he fought Josh Warrington (October 2023) all in the same year. “He was active that year, but he’s been very inactive since, he hasn’t fought since he beat Warrington. That’s an awful long time, it’s nearly two years to the ring. “Anto is getting in there with proper momentum, proper activity and the belief of a champion. “I believe Anto wins convincingly, possibly by stoppage because Anto also punches hard. They both punch hard, yes, but I think Anto’s skillset is better. I think he’s the better boxer out of the both of them. “He hasn’t been through the mill. Leigh’s been through the mill a lot of times now and there’s only so many times you can do that. I’m leaning heavily towards Anto in this fight.” All fighters who have tangled with Cacace talk about his power. His record (eight knockouts in a 23-1 career) doesn’t scream ‘knockout artist’ but the West Belfast native carries whiplash force in every shot and Wood will find that hard to deal with. “In our spar, I was boxing great and he didn’t really catch me clean, so I can’t confirm or deny the tales of Anto’s punching power. “But anybody who has fought him says he can punch really hard. When I fought Leigh Wood, I probably took bigger shots through the fight than the shot that finished me at the end. It was more exhaustion. “It’s not like he has a power where you go: ‘Oh my God, this guy punches really hard’. There’s nothing like that, it was just fatigue at the end. “I think they’re both equal in terms of their power. Then when it comes to skillset, Leigh’s not really that skilful but he’s tough and gritty and can dig down deep and he has great powers of recovery and determination.” WOOD showed those qualities by getting off the canvas in the second round after Conlan decked him with a brilliantly-timed left hand. In the third round, Conlan continued his assault and was probably one punch away from a stoppage win. But Wood is a tough cookie. He survived and went on to knock out the exhausted Belfast favourite in the final round.   Conlan is convinced that Cacace – who spent so long in the wings waiting for his big break – now has more hunger than Wood. “In terms of the determination, Anto wants it more than Lee,” he said. “He’s still very hungry after winning the world title very late in his career. He wants to make as much of his career as he can. “He has his momentum. He’s getting in there off some good wins and looking great. “Finally, he’s putting the work in which, probably in the earlier stages of his career, he wasn’t doing as much. “He was probably more half-hearted, but now you can see the grind he’s putting in, he’s taking it proper serious now and it’s great to see. I was delighted for him when he won his world titles (Cacace held the IBO and IBF titles at one stage) and I was delighted for him when he beat Warrington. How he’s held himself and how he’s continued to perform has been fantastic.” Conlan supporters took Nottingham by storm back in 2023 but Wood is a big draw in his native city and the packed Nottingham Arena was a bear pit on fight night. “Wood has a big fan base and he’ll need it in there,” said Conlan. “I brought half the arena when I fought there and I’d love to see those same people go and support Anto but I think Wood will probably have more fans in there on Saturday night.” Conlan didn’t miss a chance to wind up the Nottingham fight fans on his visit there in 2022 and there was an undercurrent of aggro between himself and Wood in the build-up to their fight. In contrast, Wood and Cacace have kept their powder dry so far but that could change before Saturday’s rumble.   “Their build-up has been respectful,” said Conlan. “My build-up was a bit of a wind-up and it got the excitement behind it. There doesn’t seem to be any bad blood in this one. “It doesn’t have the same intentions but I don’t think that’s going to really matter to Anto because he goes in there and gets the job done and that’s all that matters. “Sometimes the venue can play a part when the blood is boiling, but there’s no blood boiling around this fight so far. I think Anto goes in and gets the job done.” Facebook pageTwitter feedRSS feed@2025 The Irish News Ltd Tickets are now on sale for our Betfred Super League Round 12 fixture against Leigh Leopards at the Leigh Sports Village with with free official club travel available for supporters once again The Black & Whites take on the Leopards away from home on Thursday 22nd May (8.00pm) Tickets are available now online at hullfcshop.com by clicking here and over the phone by calling 01482 358456 A full list of ticket prices can be found below: The club are once again offering free official club coach travel to the fixture with hundreds of supporters making the most of the offer in 2025 in store or over the phone – coaches depart the MKM Stadium’s South Stand car park at 4.15pm on the day of the game Supporters are once again reminded that any form of anti-social behaviour while using official club coach travel will not be tolerated and firm action will be taken against any individuals found to be involved the Black & Whites travel to AMT Headingley for.. John Cartwright has named his match day squad for our Magic.. John Cartwright has looked ahead to our Magic Weekend clash against.. Hull FC's U18s went down 16-30 to Wigan Warriors at the.. ticket & match info and video content from the Black and Whites It’s inspirational to see the run Anthony Cacace has been on over the past year and Saturday in Nottingham is another huge fight when he takes on Leigh Wood His big win over Joe Cordina occurred almost one year ago when he got his big opportunity rolled the dice in a must-win fight to continue his journey and grabbed it with both hands to become world champion Receive today's headlines directly to your inbox every morning and evening Please check your inbox to verify your details Leigh could be without seven of their regular starters for their Magic Weekend clash against Catalans Dragons Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has confirmed Lam’s side take on Catalans Dragons in the opening match of the 2025 edition of Magic at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon The Leopards head into the game on the back of a 28-6 win at Salford Red Devils which was earned without a plethora of their key stars the situation has worsened considerably though and Leigh could look relatively unrecognisable in the North East LRL RECOMMENDS: Adrian Lam addresses Chris Chester’s Leigh Leopards departure as outgoing chief hailed Papua New Guinean boss Lam revealed the injury crisis during Wednesday afternoon’s pre-match press conference reeling off a long list of potential absentees He detailed: “We seem to have had a couple of soft tissue injuries over the last two or three weeks and it’s been since coming to train on the main pitch here (at the Leopards’ Den) “There’s a couple that are in doubt “There’s still no Davey Armstrong this week it’s 50/50 over Umyla Hanley and Tesi Niu “Keanan Brand strained his calf in the warm-up last weekend “There’s some doubt over Gaz O’Brien as well and there might be a lot more changes this week “There are a lot of niggling injuries that are going to need one or two weeks (to recover) “We’ve just got to make sure we be professional within our recovery sessions but also in how we keep working on small injuries “We’re working really hard collectively as a group to minimise these soft tissue injuries.” LRL EXCLUSIVE: Magic Weekend 2026 location revealed as talks begin over possible venue Star off-season recruit Armstrong was among those to miss last weekend’s win at Salford having been withdrawn at half-time the week prior during Leigh’s home win against Warrington Wolves due to a quad injury Lam explained in an interview with the club’s own media team earlier this week that the full-back had suffered a setback in his recovery He had originally been expected to return for next weekend’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Warrington and it would appear that concern could well be warranted Lam said: “He (Armstrong) will be in doubt for that (semi-final) but that’s a call that we’ll make right up until the end of the week “He’s just starting to get back on his feet now Bailey Hodgson has done a really good job for us at full-back Andy Badrock came into the centres (against Salford) and scored two tries “The players that are coming in have really stepped up and I’m pleased the squad have been able to do that “It’s important we get as many back as we can this weekend to try and make sure they get that game time in before the Challenge Cup semi “We want to pick our strongest team and make sure we maintain that top three spot.” LRL RECOMMENDS: Sky Sports pundit calls for video referee shot clock to stop ‘painful’ process It’s Magic Weekend – which means it’s time for a number of clubs to bring out their limited edition one-off shirts and take to the field in them there are six teams who will wear Magic kits Wigan Warriors didn’t advertise their kit as a Magic shirt more a third shirt – so we’ve left them out some of the six are fantastic – and some Here’s our ranking – from worst to best. Leigh have got no shortage of recent examples when it comes to outlandish kits – some of them strikingly good with it themed around the Leopards’ bid to be the greatest show in Super League – but it’s just a fraction too out there for us kits like these are often so divisive that they end up being big sellers than run of the mill the sentiment is really cool with a Papua New Guinea-inspired kit. but it just doesn’t hit the mark for us It’s definitely not the worst shirt this year What we should point out at this stage in proceedings is that this is a kit with an excellent cause behind it – with money being raised for Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice And while it’s not the best Magic shirt on offer this season it’s still a really great shirt with a striking colourway Wakefield’s kits for their return to Super League rank among some of the best we’ve seen in 2025: and we love Ellgren’s Magic Weekend number for Trinity It really stands out and is definitely one of our favourites It’s certainly different in terms of colour – but for us it’s a shirt that really hits the mark it’s pretty much encapsulating everything you’d want from an alternative kit – nothing like your traditional colours The Saints will also wear it at another additional away fixture in 2025 There’s not been much to cheer about this season for Paul Rowley’s side – but they’ve certainly delivered a belter on the shirt front for Magic Weekend Inspired by the club’s past and their Second Division-winning kit from the 1990-91 season it’s one of the most stunning kits we’ve seen for quite some time We reckon Salford fans will have snapped it up in huge numbers 👉🏻  Catalans star labels Super League ‘horrendous’ and ‘unwatchable’ as NRL plea made 👉🏻 Rugby League on TV: How to watch Super League and NRL Magic events 👉🏻 Magic Weekend 2026 location revealed as talks begin over possible venue 👉🏻 St Helens keen to tie down off-contract prop as Konrad Hurrell contract claim made Leigh Leopards boss Adrian Lam has lauded outgoing Head of Rugby Chris Chester who is expected to leave the club for pastures new imminently Chester was appointed by Leigh back in September 2021, with the club then still under the ‘Centurions’ tagline and having just been relegated from Super League The appointment as Head of Rugby came just seven weeks after Chester had vacated his role as head coach of hometown club Wakefield Trinity Having appointed Lam as Leigh‘s new head coach of 2022 the pair have masterminded the most successful period in the club’s recent history But three-and-a-half-years on, he is believed to be on his way out of the exit door at the Leopards’ Den with numerous job offers on the table from fellow Super League clubs based in Yorkshire LRL RECOMMENDS: Leigh Leopards coach reveals injury crisis ahead of Magic Weekend as SEVEN stars sidelined Working alongside Chester, who has headed up Leigh’s recruitment since his arrival, Lam led Leigh to a treble-winning campaign in the Championship the club adopted the ‘Leopards’ tagline and then lifted the Challenge Cup before securing successive play-off spots in the top-flight When asked about Chester in his pre-match press conference ahead of their Magic Weekend clash against Catalans Dragons, Leigh head coach Lam said: “I’m not too sure officially what I can say on it “All I know is that I played with Chris Chester as a player and I’ve worked here with him and what we’ve done together here collectively as a group has been unbelievable “We’re very close mates and what we’ve built here at the club to this point has been unbelievable “I’m not sure what it is officially that’s out there but we’re still great mate regardless of what ends up happening.” LRL RECOMMENDS: Ranking every Super League coach by career win percentage with clear winner Leigh Leopards edged a thriller against Catalans Dragons to kickstart Super League’s 18th edition of Magic Weekend winning 26-24 at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon Another very good showing from Hodgson at full-back as he deputises for the absent David Armstrong The Englishman was composed early on to collect a kick behind his own try-line and was lively when he got the ball in his hands throughout He’s proving to be another terrific bit of recruitment by Leigh A good afternoon’s work from McIntosh who seemed to take on more of a leadership role on the field than we’ve seen in a while at Leigh Will be happy to have moved back out onto the wing after last weekend’s game in the centres against Salford Niu wasn’t quite at his best upon his return from injury but still enjoyed a couple of explosive moments with the ball in hand He had a role in a couple of Catalans’ first half tries which he won’t look back on fondly A relatively quiet day at the office for off-season recruit Badrock who knocked on close to Catalans’ try-line midway through the first half with most of the action seemingly coming down the opposite flank Had looked to have been in for a try late on in the first half but was well closed down to prevent him steaming over The same happened with around eight minutes left on the clock McNamara – who was thrown into the halves to replace Gareth O’Brien – grew into the game and became lively when he got the ball in hand and his perfect record of five from five with the boot proved pivotal in the end Lam has delivered far better performances in a Leigh shirt evidenced by smashing it out on the full straight from kick-off his guile helped Leigh over the line to the win in the end and his kick for Ethan O’Neill to dot down was inch perfect who caught the eye with the ball in hand in particular during his two stints No doubt his experience will help this Leopards side long-term spinning out of a tackle and darting over in trademark fashion We saw plenty more of those darts from dummy-half and Leigh would have been over a few more times had his team-mates offered him the support needed A run of the mill performance from Mulhern who does everything Leigh need him to do on a weekly basis Has to be in the England conversation at the end of this year for his consistency alone We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again O’Neill was one of the best bits of recruitment done right the way across the league heading into 2025 We’re yet to see him deliver a disappointing performance and delivered another really good performance He got the ball back and got Leigh on the front foot with a legal strip one-on-one in the tackle midway through the first half which was a big moment in the momentum shift he then played his part in earning a goal-line drop out before scoring what proved the winning try Another performance of absolute leadership from Liu who is unstoppable at times when he gets going with the ball in hand Played about 40 seconds at the end of the game who continues to develop his game and now looks a Super League quality player Dwyer’s half-hour stint either side of half-time was important for Leigh with his defensive efforts helping to get Adrian Lam’s side on the front foot He played a vital role in earning the aforementioned goal-line drop out turned into Edwin Ipape as he darted from dummy-half and almost got over Chris Chester is due to leave Leigh Leopards with immediate effect Chester has overseen a major period of success at the Leopards and has been instrumental in their rise to one of Super League’s best-run clubs on the field He and Adrian Lam have formed an effective partnership as coach and head of rugby – but as reported by All Out Rugby League Chester has informed Leigh he will be leaving the club after over three years in a prominent off-field role He has been instrumental in a number of major signings at the club including the likes of Tom Amone and Edwin Ipape who have subsequently become huge players at the Leopards and their rise Chester was central to building the squad that also won the Challenge Cup in 2023 and has been overseeing their recruitment for this season and beyond But he will now leave having made the decision to exit his role at the Leigh Sports Village The former Wakefield Trinity head coach is already understood to have attracted admirers about roles at other Super League clubs Chester is not directly leaving Leigh for another club in the immediate term and will instead take a short break before deciding on his next move it remains to be seen whether they will replace Chester or hand Lam more control and authority on the recruitment front Chester’s last major deal was the move to bring Parramatta forward Joe Ofahengaue to the club last week on a long-term deal Chester has held coaching roles with Wakefield Trinity and Hull KR during his career but has emerged as a successful head of rugby with the Leopards he is now on the lookout for a new role after opting to leave Leigh An announcement is expected as early as Wednesday (()=>{var e=async t=>{await(await t())()};(self.Astro||(self.Astro={})).load=e;window.dispatchEvent(new Event("astro:load"));})();4/30/2025 30 April 2025 Watch the match highlights as our Reserves hosted the Leigh Leopards in Round 5 The Reds started the contest brightly and raced into a lead thanks to tries from Lucas Coan (2) a sending off midway through the second period despite a well-taken intercept try by Jack Gatcliffe Tap the video above to watch the best bits… 6 May 2025 4 May 2025 3 May 2025 3 May 2025 1 May 2025 Leigh Leopards v Warrington Wolves (13:30 BST) - Coverage starts at 13:25 BST FULL MATCH REPLAY: SALFORD 22-38 LEIGH (RESERVES ROUND 5) Harry Siddall RDTV members can watch the full game replay of Sunday’s Reserves’ Round 5 clash with the Leigh Leopards A competitive first-half saw the Reds take the lead plus two yellow cards turned the tide in the Leopards’ favour CHRIS CHESTER is being linked with a move to Castleford Tigers following his exit from Leigh Leopards, League Express understands. All Out Rugby League has reported that Chester would be leaving his post as head of rugby at the Leigh Sports Village. Now League Express can reveal that the vacant director of rugby spot at The Jungle is one that Chester could be set to land, with Danny Wilson currently in the managing director position following the exit of Mark Grattan. Chester has been with Leigh since 2021 when he first came to the club in its hour of need having just been demoted to the Championship. The former Wakefield Trinity boss appointed Adrian Lam as head coach, with Lam steering the Leopards to Super League in 2022 and then Challenge Cup success in 2023. Leigh Leopards battled past Catalans Dragons for a close 26-24 victory in the 2025 Magic Weekend opener at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park. Catalans had a narrow 14-12 lead at half-time through a Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet penalty, their tries from their young star goalkicker and Matthieu Laguerre being matched by converted efforts from Leigh's Edwin Ipape and Ben McNamara. The Dragons opened the scoring in the second half with a Reimis Smith unconverted effort but from there the Leopards dominated, a McNamara penalty plus converted efforts from Ethan O'Neill and Owen Trout giving them a 26-18 advantage. Catalans managed to hit back through headline-man Luke Keary but could not find any more points as the clock ticked down. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player With both teams in next week's Challenge Cup semi-finals, the Dragons will also be sweating on the fitness of captain Ben Garcia who limped off with a leg injury during the clash. After a period of sustained early pressure from Leigh errors, Catalans were quick to get on the scoreboard, Laguerre jumping highest for Theo Fages' kick in the fifth minute, Aispuro-Bichet adding the extras for a 6-0 lead. It took just over 10 minutes for Catalans to then add their second, Tair Sims intercepting and breaking to halfway, Aispuro-Bichet showing skill to finish off some hands in the corner before kicking the conversion to put his side 12-0 up. It continued to be an error-strewn half from the Leopards, knock-ons hampering their process, before Ipape finally took matters into his own hands on the 24th minute and fended off three to go in under the sticks, McNamara converting to bring the score to 12-6. After Aispuro-Bichet knocked over a penalty to extend Catalans' lead to 14-6, Leigh made sure to have the momentum going in at the break as McNamara barrelled over from short range and slotted over the extras, to put his side just two points behind at half-time. Despite getting the last points of the first half, Leigh were first to concede in the second, the French outfit showing good hands for Smith to go over on the left edge but with Aispuro-Bichet unable to convert, Leigh were still within a converted try of their opponents with 35 minutes still to play. With that, Leigh wasted no time in hitting back, O'Neill climbing highest for the kick and topping it off with a brilliant headstand celebration, McNamara levelling the scores at 18-18 with the conversion. The Dragons then went behind for the first time in the game as they were pinged for offside and McNamara sent over the penalty to give Leigh a 20-18 lead. From there, the Leopards were in their groove, Trout slicing through the defence to swandive over, Steve McNamara's son inflicting even more pain on him with the boot to move Leigh 26-18 ahead. Catalans managed to hit back through Luke Keary running onto the end of a chip over the top from Theo Fages to bring the scoreline to 26-24 with around 15 minutes remaining but a Dragons outfit chancing their arm could not find the crucial points needed to make up the two-point margin, falling to defeat as the Leigh fans went wild in celebration in the Gallowgate End. Leigh head coach Adrian Lam told Sky Sports... "There were a lot of changes and it was always going to be down to the wire today. Into the last 10 minutes. "I'm just glad we got two points with so many players out. It was a bit clunky but I love that we hung in there together, especially with a big week coming up. "We're a mile away from where we want to be as a team and a club. But today is what builds character in a group." Catalans head coach Steve McNamara told Sky Sports.. We managed to stay in the contest and probably could have got there somehow "Without a doubt you can't miss that many tackles It was exciting for the crowd but in terms of progressing our game "He's [son Ben McNamara at Leigh] a superb kid really professional and took his opportunity "He kicked all his goals and they won by two points Saturday May 3 - all exclusively live on Sky Sports Leigh 26-24 CatalansHull KR vs Salford - 5.15pmSt Helens vs Leeds - 7.30pm Sunday 4th May - all exclusively live on Sky Sports Huddersfield vs Hull FC - 1pmWigan vs Warrington - 3.15pmCastleford vs Wakefield - 5.30pm Sky Sports will again show every game of Super League live this season - including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+ via the red button (()=>{var e=async t=>{await(await t())()};(self.Astro||(self.Astro={})).load=e;window.dispatchEvent(new Event("astro:load"));})();4/29/2025 29 April 2025 Go Behind the Sticks and watch last Saturday’s Betfred Super League action from our unique camera angle The Leopards were in town looking to maintain their spot in the top three with the Reds looking to bounce back from defeat against Catalans Dragons in Round 8 Despite a reshuffled Salford side producing an admirable display the visitors largely dominated proceedings and came away with the two points Watch our feature now by tapping the video above… Watch the match highlights from Saturday’s Round 9 clash with Leigh Leopards at the Salford Community Stadium Another reshuffled Salford side produced a brave performance to stay competitive with Jayden Nikorima slicing through the Leopards line on multiple occasions six tries from the visitors took the game away from Salford despite a well-taken try from Joe Shorrocks Tensions were high last night in this local derby as Andover New Street Youth’s U16 Swifts took on Andover Town Youth’s U16 at Portway Stadium. It was a strong Street side who started on the front foot, taking the lead within the first 10 minutes. A fantastic ball played from the midfield put the Street forward, Freddie Percival, through. The tenacious Town defender did well to push Percival wide and onto his weaker foot, but the forward showed great composure and slotted it past the oncoming Town keeper. For the next ten minutes it was an even battle with both teams playing their hearts out. However, as the half continued it was Town who were dominant, with more possession and a few close chances. Street defended well though, managing to hold off the attacking Town until the referee blew the much-welcomed half-time whistle. The second half started much the same as the first, with Street taking the opportunity to double their lead. A break down the left saw Lucas Reeve squeeze between two Town defenders and slot the ball past the keeper. Town rose to the challenge again though, and their winger finished a ball from the right with an unstoppable shot. With their heads up, Town upped the pressure on the Street defence, winning a number of corners and scoring an equaliser with about 15 minutes left. With the scores level, the tempo settled back down to an even game with few chances for either side. As the final minutes ticked down, Street did have a chance to win the game with a through ball in the box to Mishaund Belfon. However, the advancing keeper dived at his feet, claiming the ball shortly before the referee blew his whistle for full-time. Penalties would decide the winners of this very close game, played in great spirits, with Street coming away champions after a nail-biting 7-6 win. The game was played in memory of Emma-Leigh Ryan, who sadly passed away and had played for both clubs over the years. Collection buckets were present at the game to support the GoFundMe page set up to help Emma-Leigh’s family during this incredibly difficult time. Her legacy and love for football were felt by all in attendance, adding emotional weight to an already intense fixture. Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email. 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