Leopards take the Round 23 victory with a 38-6 end, although it looked promising for Salford in the first half.
Coming in as the underdogs, the Reds took the early lead and proved to everyone that the club are far from done fighting. It was original Salford man, Joe Mellor, who got the try and brought the away stand to screams and cheers.
Leigh didn’t let them stay ahead for long though and eventually ran away with it in the second half.
Salford made a good start to the game with their first set ending 10 from Leighs line and a great defence preventing the Leopards from finding many opportunities.
Leigh eventually got a chance with a combination of their kick and a couple of offloads but they were tackled just short of the line.
The home sides next attempt was blocked as well with Tchamambe tackling Brand as he attempted to run it down the wing, forcing a foot in touch.
The Reds were next to pose a threat as they fought into Leopard territory but unfortunately Waine spilled the ball, giving Leigh a scrum.
It wasn’t long until Salford were back on the attack as a Leigh knock on gave them a great starting position. They battled it to the line but the chip was kicked away by Liu.
With a successful Captain’s Challenge by Mellor as Liu played at the ball, the Reds got their next set and started 10 out!
It was another battle but, against the odds, the Devils came out victorious as Mellor pounced over the Leopard’s line to the delight of the travelling fans. With two defenders around him, Mellor pushed through and managed to ground the ball just left of the sticks.
They took all the points on offer with Milnes’ swift kick flying between the sticks and making it a six point lead.
Unfortunately, the lead only lasted a couple minutes as a line break allowed Nui to run down the wing to ground in the left corner.
It looked as though the home side were about to get a second as Charnley dove into the corner but Russell wasn’t having it and pulled him in touch before he could reach the line.
The Reds seemed to be the dominant side on the pitch as Leigh knocked on both at the line and at half way whilst Salford applied pressure and kept the scoreboard even.
It remained this way until the final minutes of the first half when Leigh managed to score once more as they shot the ball to the right for O’Neill to find a gap and ground the ball.
The second half kicked off rather balanced as both sides fought to the line.
Whilst the Reds were forced into a goal line dropout as Connell was pushed back, Darbyshire put a stop to the Leopards, pulling Brand in touch.
The Reds fought into the Leopards half and, with the aid of two penalties, battled it out at the line. Sadly, the chip was kicked back and the Leopards took possession.
Leigh were next on the attack, getting five out before Mellor took possession and prevented any further Leigh progress.
Whilst Leigh’s next attempt was also stopped Short, Murphy was caught in goal and the Leopards were given another set.
With more action both ways, the Leopards made another attempt at the line. Shooting the ball out wide, Charnley took it and dove over, just before he could be pulled in touch.
It was consecutive tries for Leigh as Davis made a line break and ran it to the line, grounding the ball to the right of the sticks and pushing them to a 24-6 lead with 15 minutes left on the clock.
A tough kick almost forced a knock on but Murphy caught the ball as it bounced backwards. He attempted to run it past the goal line but is just caught in goal for another goal line drop out.
Murphy made a short kick in an attempt to keep possession but the Leopards won the chase and Hodgson was able to score as a result.
Soon after, Davis broke the defensive line and dodged tackles. It looked promising for the hooker but Tchamambe caught him and ended the set.
The Leopards weren’t going to be stopped though and Charnley got his second of the night as he mirrored his earlier try, running it down the wing.
It was once again consecutive tries for Leigh as the ball flew to the right and Towse jumped over for the grounding.
There was some hope for the Reds in the final minutes as a Leigh knock on was caught by Murphy and it was fought to the line. Connell chipped on the last and chased his own ball but was just unable to ground it.
Leigh took possession in the last seconds of the game and the ball soon went dead, ending Round 23 with a 38-6 scoreboard.
MATCH FACTS:
Salford XIII: Declan Murphy, Neil Tchamambe, Louix Gorman, Jack Derbyshire, Nathan Connell, Rowan Milnes, Joe Mellor, Loghan Lewis, Finley Yates, Justin Sangare, Leon Ruan, Dan Russell, Harvey Wilson
Interchanges: Charlie Glover, Tiaki Chan, Toby Warren, Emmanuel Wane
Tries: Mellor
Conversions: Milnes (1/1)
Leigh Leopards XIII: Bailey Hodgson, Keenan Brand, Tesi Niu, Darnell McIntosh, Josh Charnley, Ben McNamara, Lachlan Lam, Jack Hughes, Matt Davis, Robbie Mulhern, Andrew Badrock, Ethan O’Neill, Isaac Liu
Interchanges: Aaron Pene, Alec Tuitavake, AJ Towse, Brad Dwyer
Tries: Nui, O’Neill, Charnley (2), Davis, Hodgson, Towse
Conversions: McNamara (5/7)
HT: 12-6
FT: 38-6
