ADRIAN Lam is confident Leopards will produce a positive response to their shock 30-18 defeat at Huddersfield Giants when they host St Helens on Friday night.
Confirmation of Leigh’s play-off spot is still to be confirmed with two games of the regular Super League season remaining.
Victory over seventh placed Saints will remove any lingering concern and ensure Leopards remain in the hunt for a home play-off semi-final.
Lam doesn’t plan wholesale changes despite the loss to Giants though David Armstrong, recovered from a recent knee issue, and Keanan Brand, recalled from a loan stint at Castleford, will come into contention.
“I am the type of coach that when you perform like that I like to give players a chance to respond and fix up what we did wrong,” said Lam of the Huddersfield horror show.
“And a slip up like that isn’t the end of the world. If it ticks a couple of boxes we haven’t covered it could potentially make us better.
“And if a bit of luck goes our way potentially we can get a home final. All of that is in our hands.
“There is a group here that can respond fairly quickly and I am confident we can.
“It was a tough night (at Huddersfield) and tough couple of days to get our heads round it. “We didn’t see it coming and we played quite badly. So, there was a lot to dissect and a lot of accountability and honesty with individuals.
“But I am not one to hold on to those moments too long. If we are better for it, I can cop it and accept it.”
Armstrong missed Leigh’s last game but trained this week alongside minor injury doubts, Josh Charnley and Umyla Hanley.
On Brand’s potential inclusion Lam added: “Keanan is a key player for us; he’s missed a lot of game time this year through being injured and I think he can bring us a bit of X-factor. We’ll see what happens.”
Leigh are chasing a fourth successive Super League home win against St Helens who were 20-18 winners when the sides met at the BrewDog Stadium.
Leopards twice led but Saints hit back to give former coach Paul Rowley his first win since succeeding Paul Wellens.
*Leigh’s women’s team travel to Huddersfield on Sunday with a 2pm kick-off at Laund Hill. Leopards were beaten 30-0 by Featherstone last time out and have won only two of their 11 league games to date.
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