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Leigh topple woeful Bulls, awesome Adam Cook, injury concern and more Leigh Leopards v Bradford Bulls talking points - Serious About Rugby League

Serious About Rugby League · Sam Brocksom · 2026-08-21T21:03:24+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Leigh Leopards climb to fifth in Super League after a resounding 62-4 win over Bradford Bulls. The result, which was Leigh’s biggest win of the year and Bradford’s heaviest defeat, came as a shock to many, with Leigh expected to win, but not by such a big margin. Half-back Adam Cook was sensational, scoring 30 of the Leopards’ 62 points – the most by any Leigh player in Super League history. He scored two, as did Innes Senior and Lachlan Lam. Robbie Mulhern, Louis Brogan, Umyla Hanley and Joe Ofahengaue also got over the whitewash. For Bradford, Waqa Blake crossed in the first half, before a consolation score came through Eliot Peposhi. NRL lowball Super League, Hull FC’s gargantuan signing, and new title favourites – Click here to watch this week’s episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show Leigh Leopards v Bradford Bulls talking points Leopards rise to fifth after convincing victory: Coming into this game, some thought that last week’s win over Leeds Rhinos would have sapped a lot of energy from Leigh, but in fact it looked like the opposite had happened. Combined with a very poor Bradford effort, the Leopards looked a threat every time they had the ball, with playmakers Adam Cook and Lachlan Lam pulling the strings in what is one of their best combined efforts of the year. The result, albeit temporarily, pushes Leigh up to fifth in the table, though that could change should Hull KR beat Toulouse tomorrow. What the outcome will do is boost the Leopards’ points difference massively. Whilst they still have a long way to go in matching the likes of Wakefield and Hull KR in terms of points difference, the 52-point margin is one step towards evening out a stat that could become crucial for play-off positioning. Major injury worry: Leigh’s win will be slightly overshadowed by concern to full-back David Armstrong, who left the field at half-time and didn’t return. That left veteran winger Josh Charnley to fill in at number one, a position he has only played once in his career! (Per RugbyLeagueProject). Armstrong was involved in a collision with Bulls centre Waqa Blake towards the end of the first half, and with the ex-Newcastle man returning from an ACL injury earlier this year, the Leopards were keen to make sure their star man is fit and ready for the finals. On the opposite side, Bradford winger Ethan Ryan didn’t play the second 40, though his issue is currently unknown. Bulls’ ill-discipline on show again: Coming into round 23, Bradford had conceded 164 penalties in Super League, which is an average of just over seven per game. In the first half alone, the Bulls conceded seven, showing how careless and inconsistent they were, especially without the ball. One of those penalties resulted in a penalty goal for Adam Cook, who increased the lead from six to eight after 18 minutes. The second half started in the worst way possible, with Caleb Aekins dropping the kick-off, leading to Innes Senior scoring off the resultant scrum. Missed tackles and poor defensive reads were the theme of the second half, with the Leopards scoring three tries in the opening 12 minutes to kill the game off early. Wooden spoon looms: With Bradford already bottom of Super League coming into this game, a thumping defeat keeps them there for yet another week, and with the Bulls already having 53 worse points difference than Huddersfield, the result means that they are now over 100 behind. What that means is, if none of the bottom three wins another game this season, and in Bradford’s case that looks heavily unlikely, it will mean that Kurt Haggerty’s men end their first season back in Super League in 14th spot.