Men

Lam's the man for the Leopards

8 hrs

Lachlan Lam, the cult hero of Leigh Leopards.

It’s hard to believe that the Leopards were a Betfred Championship outfit in 2022, for it feels like they’ve been a top tier team so much longer.

2023 was a magical first year back in Super League. Together, the team lifted their first Challenge Cup trophy in 52 years, before reaching the Super League Play-Offs for the first time in history. Then, 2024 saw them secure their highest ever Super League finish and play in their first ever semi-final.

Lam has been a key part of this success – not only did he lead the Leopards to their emphatic promotion, but he was responsible for kicking Leigh’s winning drop goal in their dramatic Challenge Cup Final, but his weekly shining displays in Super League have been a joy to watch over the past two seasons.

And Lam will be with the Leopards once again in 2025. There’s been plenty of speculation about whether Lam would be sticking around for the new season, but he’s committed to the cause and raring to go.

Last year saw Leigh cement their place among the competition’s big guns following a remarkable mid-season resurgence. Adrian Lam’s men lost seven of their first eight matches, meaning that could have achieved much higher than fifth place had they gotten off to a better start.

“Last season was good, but we had a bit of a slow start and that is something we’ll look to improve on this year,” Lam said.

“It’s been like that for the past few years – we haven’t quite got the first quarters of the seasons right since being back in Super League, so that’s going to be our focal point.

“Then, when the weather starts to dry up and the game gets a bit quicker, it’ll suit us a lot more.”

"Has Lam got the legs?" ?

Absolute quality from @LeighLeopardsRL ?#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/rSugVWM7bo
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) July 26, 2024

There are a number of fresh faces in the Leopards team for 2025, with Lam impressed with what he’s seen so far:

“We’ve been testing out our signings - David Armstrong, Tessi Niu and Isaac Liu.

“There’s a lot of experience but also youth and speed added to our team this year - and that’s something that’s going to benefit us and the way we like to play.

“If you haven’t seen Davy [Armstrong] play, he is very fast!”

The Leopards are aiming high once again in 2025, and Lam believes his squad are more than capable of going that one step further:

“For me personally, I just want to start a little bit better. I’ve learnt a few things that I want to try and show in the games.

“Collectively, we finished one stage higher than the year before, so we’d like to go one more this year and reach a Grand Final. That would be our goal.

“I think the top six will be similar to last year, but we need to be in there.”

The 2025 Super League season will kick off with a blistering Battle of the Borough on the Thursday night, and the Leopards are relishing their trip to face the reigning Champions and rivals Wigan Warriors at The Brick Community Stadium.

The sides only met back in October, when Wigan crushed Leigh’s hopes of a maiden Grand Final appearance with a fearsome 38-0 victory in the semis. But Leigh will surely only use this defeat as ammunition for Round 1 and Lam is excited for the occasion:

“We always love play Wigan – it always draws a big crowd, so I’ll sure it’ll be a big one,” Lam said.

“I’m really looking forward to that one.”

Leigh’s star man also expressed his eagerness to get back on the Rugby League field along with his Leopards teammates and the fans:

“I’m looking forward to walking into the sheds during training and on game day and seeing how we’re all prepared for the week and about to go and do the thing we all love.

“I’ve really missed my footy and putting the Leigh jersey on, so I’m excited to do that.”