Charnley double helps Leigh ease to win over Giants

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Betfred Super League

Leigh (20) 30

Tries: Towse 2, Senior, Lam (penalty try), Charnley 2 Goals: Cook 3

Huddersfield (10) 16

Tries: Swift, Milne, Gagai Goals: Zenon 2

Josh Charnley moved within five tries of Ryan Hall's Super League record to help secure a fourth win of the season for Leigh Leopards against Huddersfield Giants.

On his 400th appearance, Charnley's two second-half finishes took him up to 263 career Super League tries and helped the Leopards to a 30-16 victory.

His double supplemented four tries in the first half with two from AJ Towse, one from Innes Senior and a penalty try for Lachlan Lam, who was tackled high a yard from the line.

Leigh, who were bottom after losing to Warrington two matches ago, move up to eighth before the weekend's games after a second consecutive win. Defeat for Huddersfield leaves them level on points with Toulouse at the foot of the table.

The brace from 34-year-old Charnley in 11 second-half minutes knocked the stuffing out of the Giants, who saw a 10-point deficit doubled with 11 minutes left.

Jacob Gagai grabbed Huddersfield's third try just before the hooter, finishing a burst from halfway down the left flank, but in truth they were never close enough on the scoreboard to trouble their hosts.

This has been a puzzling season for Leigh, who started it by beating Leeds Rhinos on the opening weekend but then won only one of their next six, a Golden Point win over Toulouse at the end of March.

That narrow win seems to have ignited belief within the dressing room with the Leopards having won three of their last four to make some upward progress.

Victory never looked in much doubt from the moment Towse went over on the left flank.

Huddersfield might point to a host of marginal calls which went against them, including a possible knock-on in the build up to that first try.

But while Adam Swift levelled matters with his first try of the Super League campaign, Leigh responded immediately as Senior and Lam extended the lead to 16-4.

Giants had a try from Asher O'Donnell ruled out for obstruction but Taane Milne did barrel over to make it 20-10 at the break.

The second half proved to be all about Charnley, exactly 16 years to the day in 2010 when he made a first senior appearance for Blackpool Panthers on loan from Wigan.

His first try was a brilliant one-handed finish tight against the right touchline which showcased all his skill, while his second proved he remains a formidable force on the hoof with a muscular charge driving through Niall Evalds' defences.

The veteran winger came within inches of marking his milestone with a hat-trick, only to narrowly fail to gather a pass with the line beckoning.

But his two tries still moved him closer to Leeds Rhinos veteran Hall, who has four in seven appearances this season.

Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam told BBC Radio Merseyside:

"Really pleased. So many changes but it was probably our best attacking day of the season so far and we probably left four or five tries out on the field.

"Two wins in a row helps us move up the ladder. Fingers crossed we can build some momentum moving forward.

"I was hoping that Adam Cook last pass would have landed in Josh Charnley's lap there for the hat-trick on his special night. What an honour it is to have him at the club and what an achievement.

"We are just grateful to have Josh here doing things like that. It is a massive milestone and he has had a great night with two tries."

Huddersfield Giants interim head coach Liam Finn told BBC Radio Leeds:

"It ebbed and flowed a bit and there were some decent periods like at the start of the first half and the start of the second, but ultimately we haven't got enough resilience when we are under pressure.

"We make a few errors and make errors in clusters and back to back to put us under pressure. Defensively we don't show enough steel on our try-line and we don't control enough rucks.

"The resilience issue is not something you fix overnight. You have to keep working on and pushing together. Clearly we are not building that fast enough.

"I have said to the team in there there is no silver bullet or troops coming back. We have got what we have got, but like a lot of squads we are around the 18 or 19 fit players mark."

Leigh: O'Brien, Towse, Senior, Hughes, Charnley, Cook, Lam; Ofahengaue, Pape, Mulhern, Halton, Alick-Wiencke, Liu

Interchanges: Brogan, Trout, McNamara, Horne

Huddersfield: Evalds, Douglas, Gagai, Zenon, Swift, Clune, Lolohea; Rogers, Woolford, Patolo, O'Donnell, Rushton, Powell

Interchanges: Milne, King, Cozza, Russell

Referee: Marcus Griffiths

Related topics

• Leigh Leopards
• Rugby League
• Huddersfield Giants