Wakefield Secures Hard-Fought Victory Over Leigh

For the best viewing experience, please use the Chrome browser. Wakefield Trinity managed to hold on for a narrow 18-14 win over Leigh Leopards in the fifth round of the Super League at the DIY Kitchens Stadium. The first half saw little separation between the two teams, with Wakefield securing eight points through a converted try by Jazz Tevaga and a penalty by Max Jowitt, while Leigh responded with an unconverted try by Gareth O'Brien, trailing 8-4 at halftime. Wakefield struck early in the second half with tries from Jayden Myers and Oliver Pratt, the latter coming after Jack Hughes was sent to the sin bin for preventing a scoring opportunity. Despite late tries from Josh Charnley and Jacob Alick-Wiencke, Leigh's efforts came too late, and they suffered another defeat. This victory marks Wakefield's third win of the season, while Leigh has only won once in five games, struggling with injuries. Leigh's head coach, Adrian Lam, noted that he entered the match with his last 18 fit players. The game plan for both teams was simple, focusing on completing sets, which led to an arm-wrestle scenario in the opening minutes. Wakefield broke through in the 11th minute when Tyson Smoothy threw a flat pass to Tevaga, who scored under the sticks, with Jowitt converting for an early 6-0 lead. Leigh thought they had responded eight minutes later, but Jack Hughes was held up over the line. Wakefield stood firm against Leigh's attack and were rewarded when Jayden Myers seemed to score in the corner, but it was disallowed due to his foot being in touch. The home team added points when Jowitt sent over a conversion after Jack Sinfield was hit high. Leigh finally scored in the 33rd minute after a big shot from Liam Horne forced a knock-on, and O'Brien threw a dummy to score, but Adam Cook missed the conversion, leaving them 8-4 down at halftime. After the break, Wakefield regained the impetus when prop Caius Faatili sent up a speculative kick, which Myers picked up to run in and increase their lead. Both sides had chances, but there were several 'no try' decisions, including one for Myers in the 59th minute due to a knock-on by Cam Scott. Eventually, Wakefield got the try they were searching for after Hughes was sent to the sin bin, and Pratt used his strength to go over, with Jowitt converting for an 18-4 lead. Leigh managed to hit back through Charnley in the 69th minute, but with Cook missing the conversion again, they were running out of time. When Alick-Wiencke went over with just a minute left, converted by Cook, it was too late, and Wakefield held on for the win. Wakefield Trinity Head Coach Daryl Powell said, 'I thought there was a lot to like about us last week, but a lot less tonight. Credit to Leigh, they got after us, and we didn't handle that well.' Leigh Leopards Head Coach Adrian Lam noted, 'The discipline hurt us, a couple of big moments in the game. I'm just looking for them being connected as a team.' Sky Sports will continue to show every Super League game live this season.