After their Round 25 defeat to Leigh at The Jungle, Castleford Tigers boss Craig Lingard had high praise for the Leopards, insisting they could ‘go all the way’ and win the Super League Grand Final.
Scoring three unanswered tries in the first 20 minutes of the second half to attain an unassailable 34-6 advantage, Adrian Lam’s Leopards eventually left West Yorkshire with a 34-12 victory, making it nine wins in their last 10 games overall.
Two of those wins have come away at The Jungle having also beaten Lingard’s Castleford side 20-10 just over a month ago in Round 20.
Leigh moved up to 4th on the Super League ladder, at least temporarily, following their latest success and are safe in the knowledge that they will remain in the play-off spots come the conclusion of this weekend’s action.
There is still work to be done for Lam’s side to cement their spot in the top six, likely needing one win from their remaining two games in the regular season at home against Hull KR and St Helens.
And post-match, Cas chief Lingard admitted he thought the Leopards ‘could go all the way’, saying: “The last time we played Leigh down here a few weeks ago, they were outside the play-offs and it was going to be difficult for them to get in.
“I said at the time that if they could get in, then I thought they could go all the way and win it. I think they’re that good, I really do.
“You look at the middle unit that they’ve got with (John) Asiata), (Robbie) Mulhern and (Tom) Amone. There was no (Edwin) Ipape in there tonight, but he comes back in and they’ve got strike on their edges.
“Lachlan Lam in the halves and whoever’s there partnering him at half-back, whether it’s Matt Moylan or Gareth O’Brien, they’ve got threats all across the park. They’ve got wingers who can finish tries as well.
“If they can remain injury free, which I think has played a big part in their resurgence and why they potentially started the season so badly when they had a lot of injuries, I think they can go all the way.”
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