Mcnamara Leads Leigh To Victory Over Dad's Dragons

Betfred Super League

Leigh (12) 26

Tries: Ipape, McNamara, O'Neill, Trout Goals: McNamara 5

Catalans (14) 24

Tries: Laguerre, Aispuro-Bichet, Smith, Keary Goals: Aispuro-Bichet 4

Ben McNamara's individual 14-point haul led a comeback triumph arsenic Leigh Leopards hit his dada Steve's Catalans Dragons successful nan 2025 Magic Weekend opener.

McNamara scored a effort and kicked 5 goals retired of 5 aft nan Dragons had raced into an early lead done Matthieu Laguerre and Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet's superb solo effort.

Edwin Ipape and McNamara brought Leigh backmost to wrong 2 points astatine half-time and aft Reimis Smith widened nan separator erstwhile more, tries from Ethan O'Neill and Owen Trout, positive McNamara's cleanable kicking grounds put Leigh successful control.

Luke Keary, aft his controversial remarks astir Super League successful midweek, scored a effort to unfastened up nan crippled erstwhile much but Leigh held patient for a triumph that takes them 2nd successful Super League.

Both teams headed for St James' Park connected nan backmost of 4 consecutive wins which person taken some into apical six contention and to adjacent week's Challenge Cup semi-finals.

Catalans seemed to beryllium nan broadside carrying that shape into this fixture arsenic they opened a 12-point lead wrong 16 minutes, pinch Laguerre leaping up of Josh Charnley to stitchery Theo Fages' spot and spell complete nan line.

Exciting teen Aispuro-Bichet, now starring astatine full-back for nan French side, lit up nan Newcastle venue by weaving done a questionable Leigh defence for different score, and he added some conversions to put his broadside successful control.

Leigh yet woke up arsenic Ipape span retired of an attempted 5th tackle, conscionable arsenic different onslaught seemed to beryllium fizzling out, and powered complete betwixt nan posts.

Aispuro-Bichet's punishment again put abstraction betwixt nan teams, but Leigh were backmost wrong 2 points by half-time arsenic McNamara benefited from different Ipape complaint and speedy play-the-ball to dash complete nan line.

The momentum was intelligibly pinch Leigh arsenic nan teams emerged for nan 2nd half particularly arsenic Catalans' inspirational skipper Ben Garcia grounded to re-emerge aft suffering an injury.

The Dragons extended their lead, nevertheless arsenic Smith sewage up from his knees from an uncompleted tackle to score, but Aispuro-Bichet's conversion effort deed nan post, a miss that would beryllium costly.

Leigh took complaint from that constituent connected arsenic Lachlan Lam's precocious footwear was caught by O'Neill to score, pinch McNamara adding nan extras and past a punishment to separator them up for nan first clip successful nan game.

With Trout adding different effort and McNamara again accurate, Catalans abruptly needed 2 scores.

They could only negociate one, arsenic Keary gathered different Fages spot and swerved past nan screen to score.

Leigh caput coach Adrian Lam said:

"We gave them a spot of a commencement early connected successful nan crippled and erstwhile you're playing a squad for illustration Catalans it's nan past point you want to do.

"I was pleased pinch nan resilience and toughness, being agreed to travel backmost into nan image and people correct connected half-time which is simply a monolithic play for us.

"Those games pinch truthful galore players being out, it decidedly helps. I deliberation it tin bring nan squad together pinch a batch of caller faces and a batch of changes, it surely brings nan squad together."

Catalans caput coach Steve McNamara said:

"I thought we played really poorly. You've sewage to springiness nan guidance credit, they've sewage nan occupation done and they've done that a fewer times now, recovered ways to do it.

"We missed that galore tackles successful nan first half and made that galore errors successful nan 2nd half, we consciousness we've fixed that 1 distant successful immoderate regards."

Leigh: Hodgson; McIntosh, Niu, Badrock, Charnley; McNamara, Lam; Ofahengaue, Ipape, Mulhern, O'Neill, Trout, Liu.

Interchanges: Wilde, Brogan, Davis, Dwyer.

Catalans: Aispuro-Bichet; Yaha, Laguerre, Smith, Cotric; Keary, Fages; Pangai Jr, Garcia, Bousquet, Sims, Whitehead, Partington.

Interchanges: Da Costa, Satae, Navarrete, Sironen.

Referee: Liam Moore.