Leigh came away with a victory after an early lead at Salford Community Stadium, despite the Red Devils’ determination and an incredible Shorrocks try which left the score 6-28.
Leigh made an early lead in the opening minutes of the game which extended throughout the game. the Reds didn’t let them do so lightly, fighting back at every chance, with a combo of Nikorima and Shorrocks bringing Salford onto the scoreboard.
Though, the Reds were unable to make a full comeback, their effort and continuous attempts at the whitewash were undeniable.
A rough start to the match saw Leigh take possession of the ball and gain an early lead as Bedrock crossed in the far left corner.
Their lead continued only minutes later as Towse caught a short pass on the right wing and dove over in the right-hand corner, although a second failed conversion by McNamara prevented a higher points difference.
Despite the early misfortune, the home fans remained loud and proud.
The Reds were soon awarded a penalty as Thewlis was held down by Leigh’s defence.
It looked hopeful for the Devils as Nikorima’s great display of speed got him through Leigh’s line. However, Hellewell was tackled as he caught the pass and knocked-on.
Following a penalty against Salford 10 out, Mcintosh was next on the scoreboard as he grounded a chip into the right corner. Though he attempted to convert his own try, their lead only went up by 4 as his kick was wide.
It looked as though Leigh were about to get their fourth try but a double movement by Towse stopped them short.
Another Nikorima run was stopped short as he offloaded to Hellewell who was then tackled. However, Salford were awarded a penalty for earlier contact to the head.
Only moments later, Nikorima had another great run which ended with another Salford penalty for a dangerous tackle that saw his legs go up in the air.
Salford had a great run that looked hopeful as they were given a second set of 6 meters out. Unfortunately it came to an end as Leigh caught the chip.
The Leopards were then awarded a penalty for a high tackle, off the back of which Bedrock scored his second try of the night.
At half-time, the scoreboard sat at 0-18.
Salford were handed a penalty for a dangerous tackle that left Connell on the ground for a moment. Luckily, he was okay.
The Reds were quickly given a second penalty for late contact which got them right to the line. Makin made the dive over the whitewash but it was given as no try by the video referee due to a knock-on by Nikorima just before.
Nikorima’s offload led to a knock-on which was collected by Leigh who made their way to the line for Davis to cross and extend their lead.
Leigh soon made their way back to the line and were fighting a strong Salford defence to get over. Their attempt came to an abrupt end as Lam’s pass went out on the left.
Nikorima got the game back into Leigh’s own half with an incredible run down the field, however Thewlis knocked on at the line.
Going straight back to it, Nikorima mirrored his run back towards the home fans. Shorrocks continued the run after receiving the inside pass, evading the Leigh defence and leaping over the whitewash for an amazing try in front of the home stand.
With a Morgan conversion bring Salford up to 6, the stadium erupted into cheers.
George Hill kept the momentum going with a line break of his own but had nobody to pass to so the run stopped short.
A Leigh knock-on allowed Salford to make a run into Leigh’s half, however a controversial call of a knock-on, and unsuccessful Captain’s Challenge, gave Leigh possession.
They didn’t make much of it though as they quickly gave away a penalty for a forward pass.
A second consecutive penalty gave Salford another set of 6 to play with, however Shorrocks’ kick was unable to be grounded.
With a second set only 10 away, Leigh were able to get their fifth try of the night with Charnley diving into the left corner. O’Brien almost got the conversion but hit the left post to leave the score 6-28.
MATCH FACTS:
Salford XIII: Kai Morgan, Nathan Connell, Esan Marsters, Jonny Vaughan, Jake Thewlis, Jayden Nikorima, Joe Mellor, Jack Ormondroyd, Sam Davis, Harvey Makin, Ben Hellewell, Joe Shorrocks, Harvey Wilson
Interchanges: Finley Yates, Justin Sangare, George Hill, Toby Warren
Tries: Shorrocks
Conversions: Morgan (1/1)
Leigh Leopards XIII: Bailey Hodgson, Darnell Mcintcosh, Andrew Badrock, AJ Topse, Josh Charnley, Gareth O’Brien, Lachlan Lam, Owen Trout, Ben McNamara, Robbie Mulhern, Ethan O’Neill, Jack Hughes, Isaac Liu
Interchanges: Louis Brogan, Nathan Wilde, Matt Davis, Brad Dwyer
Tries: Badrock (2), Towse, Mcintosh, Davis, Charnley
Conversions: McNamara (0/2), Mcintosh (0/1), O’Brien (2/3)
HT: 0-18
FT: 6-28
