Adrian Lam, the coach of Leigh Leopards, held a press conference after his team’s 38-0 loss against Wigan Warriors in the Super League semifinals.

Lam was questioned regarding the performance of his team, Wigan, and his thoughts on the Leopards’ 2024 campaign.

“It was almost like a car crash performance,” We haven’t been that way during the entire season, so we are frustrated in that regard. We didn’t feel like we gave ourselves a chance, even though I know there were three last-minute changes made to important positions during the week, so it probably didn’t help.

Was it Leigh’s bad day, Wigan’s superior strength, or a combination of the two?

Most likely a little of both. They performed rugby in the finals the way it should be played, in my opinion, and they were excellent. They were amazing tonight, but I thought we made too many mistakes on our own, placed too much pressure on ourselves, and as a result, we lost six times.

“I believe that at halftime, there were five penalties, and it hasn’t been like that all season. As a result, you will be punished quickly if you give a team like Wigan that much possession at that end of the field given their speed.”

Any specific explanations for the out-of-character performance?

“I believe that the structure we adhered to was essentially the same as it was each week, and we will discuss this further after the season. It was incredibly tough to play Salford, who had essentially had a week off after resting so many players against Wigan the week before. Even though we went through that trying period in the first half, I think our mistakes placed us under pressure—six times—and our penalty count was 5-1 at halftime, which didn’t help. It’s difficult to play a top two team after they’ve had a week off at home.

We were almost in our line when we committed those mistakes, and Wigan is a squad that moves quickly and can do serious damage. We would have entered at 10-6 down and the game would have been quite different if Ricky Leutele had thrown a dummy when Abbas Miski took the intercept, scored the try, and kicked the goal. We were still confident at 10 (down), but I believe that was a late try with two minutes remaining that made the score 18-0 at halftime, which somewhat deflated us. Later in the second half, there was a mistake in the first tackle. We’ll look at that in the postseason because it was just a rerun of the game.

Did you think anything could be done to save it at halftime?

Yes, without a doubt. There have been occasions where we trailed at halftime. For example, at Salford, we trailed Saints 12-0, but we overcame the deficit in the second half. Despite our resilience throughout the season, it felt like that one game was too much.

“However, Wigan is a quality team, so if you do that, our completion percentage was 60% in the first half and 40% in the second. We were chasing the game in the second half, which made our errors and mistakes worse. With those stats, you can’t win a Super League bottom four match, much less the most significant game in the club’s history. That will teach us a lot tonight, and we’ll keep developing and expanding in the same manner.

Regarding the 4,500 Leigh supporters at the away end.

“Incredible. We have the most ardent and, in my opinion, the best fans in the Super League. Our owner, Derek Beaumont, is a touch eccentric, but we adore him.

We asked them to support us when things weren’t going well because we knew we had the belief and trust that we could turn things around, and I believe that’s why they continued to show up for us during that trying period. This serves as a gentle reminder to everyone that, despite the fact that things may not be going well during the season—whether they did so two years ago, ten years ago, last year, this year, or next year—you should still have faith in us because we’re working hard, our systems and procedures are sound, and everything will work out in the end.

“A lot of things will change at the end of the year; many new faces will appear, and tonight, those players who we will never see again but who have left a lasting impression on our memories will bid us farewell. The terrible thing about tonight is that some of those players are playing for us for the very final time.

To make it to the playoffs, the Leopards had a strong second half of the season. Just your thoughts about your campaign for 2024…

Although there has undoubtedly been some maturity on my part, I believe that as a coach I have learned a lot about what to do in a really trying circumstance. However, the group and squad have shown incredible resilience over a very trying time.

“I believe the highlight of the year has been how we have come together and shown resilience when it has been most needed. I find that to be incredible.”

“Even if tonight—as I have mentioned—was a nightmare, I have to remember how much our group has grown. We took home every title in the Championship three years ago. We finished sixth in the Challenge Cup two years ago, but this year’s fourth place finish is a positive stride.

“We have to be positive about this year because we are headed in the right direction. I think it is an amazing time for the town to have a team to cheer about and support. As a result, attendance at our home stadium has increased, which is just a reflection of the team providing our fans with something to look forward to every weekend.”

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