Full Back
A position fully secure with Caleb Aekins the NZ/Welshman (he is available for Wales at the World Cup in case you don’t know). Possibly the best all round Full Back at Leigh for a long time. Positionally strong in defence and a gracefully running style. Nailed on starter.
Wing
Leigh have signed a sack full of wingers, and most have only managed 2 games in the current campaign. On paper the best wingers are Inu and Hitchcox. Brand the surprise find of the season has been ever present all season. Brand is not dynamic but he is solid and works very hard. If you doubt he has skill, then I present the last try against Bradford (Cup) as top skills and a match winner.
Centre
The current squad contains only 2 centres – Chamberlain and MacDonold. Nene is taking all the plaudits and claiming big yards up the middle. This is primarily because he is being starved of the ball on the flanks. Feed the Centres on the flanks and I think Leigh will make more breaks.
Half Backs
Leigh currently have only 2 half backs - Mellor and Reynolds. Mellor has put in several Man of the Match performances, but unfortunately Reynolds is very limited indeed. All the other Championship teams have midfield generals darting around and dictating play, Leigh have Reynolds. Maybe he would be more motivated if there was some competition for places. Sign a gnarly Aussie or a tank busting Samoan, please there must be something else out there.
Dummy Half
Every team needs at least 2 and Leigh have got 3. Lammy only seems entirely comfortable with Smith. For a St Helens understudy no.9 (Think Roby and Cunningham), you would be expecting the next Gen to be an explosive bundle of fun. Instead Smith is conservative and tends to play the percentage game. The only hope is that Ipape starts darting from the play the ball and causing mayhem.
Props
Last seasons Props are chewing up the yards and dominating the middle of the park. Sidlow often appears to be calmest man on the pitch, and Ioane is stronger, faster and more determined than we have seen from him previously. Amone is the new Fuifui and loves the “Smash” running hard into brickwalls. Asiata arrived with much fanfare, he is currently failing to dominate games but he is part of a very effective pack of forwards.
Middles
2nd Row – rubber stamped are Wardle (Veteran) and Stone (the stereotypical athletic Aussie forward). Putting in the hard work down the Centre and pacey and looking for gaps out wide.
Loose Forward
James Bell would fill this hole, if only he didn’t play for St Helens.
Tactics
Lammy talks about Rugby being a simple game, and he has transported his style from Wigan to Leigh. The methodology is simple – dominate the middle of the park and score at the fringes. Not overly exciting to watch, but it comes without the seat of the pants basketball style that Leigh have played for the last 20 years.
Areas for Improvement
Currently lacking fluidity on the flanks. Centre and Wing partnerships are being created on a weekly basis.
Half backs not dominating the game. Mellor doing the work of two.
More breaks all around and more activity from dummy half.
I miss the days of putting 70 points on the opposition.