MATT Moylan aims to light up Leigh Sports Village on Friday night (kick-off 8pm) with an illuminating performance to mark his Betfred Super League debut.
Huddersfield Giants provide the opposition for the Australian half back and his Leopards’ team mates.
Last year’s corresponding game took three days to finish after a power failure forced the contest to be abandoned after 48 minutes.
When the final 32 minutes were played Leigh eventually won 34-16 “Hopefully, they have got the lights fixed and they stay on,” smiled the former Penrith Panther and Cronulla Sharks playmaker.
“That was unique last year but also pretty good to be a part of,” added Lachlan Lam of the ‘longest’ game in Super League history.
“All the fans had their cameras out like they would at concerts so it was pretty cool.”
Moylan’s partnership with Lam will be the key focus this time for home supporters.
And the newcomer can’t wait to get started. “It’s been good and has come along pretty quickly,” said Moylan of his fledgling partnership with the current Lance Todd Trophy holder.
“I think we complement each other in how we want to play.
“It is a combination that is going to only get better the more time we spend together playing and training.”
Moylan, a try scorer in Leigh’s encouraging pre season victory at Warrington, is also conscious of making a winning start to the campaign with Leigh sidelined in round two due to Wigan’s World Club Challenge clash against Penrith.
“It is a long turnaround between games if we don’t get it right,” he acknowledged.
“Sitting there for two weeks after a loss isn’t a great feeling.
“Hopefully, if we can come away with a result, it will be a massive start to the season especially as we play Saints in round three.
“That will be a good test hopefully off the back of a good win.”
Head coach Adrian Lam is aiming for his side to better last season’s fifth place finish.
“We would have earned respect from a lot of the clubs that may have underestimated us last year,” he said.
“But the Betfred odds at 16-1 don’t give us a chance so there are still people who don’t think we are good enough.
“But that’s what drives us on.
“A good season would be finishing ahead of where we did last year.
“So, top four would be success as would a home (play-off) semi-final.
“I know if we keep our feet grounded and work hard that is achievable.
“We won the Challenge Cup for the first time in more than 50 years so we don’t want to let it go so quickly.”
Lam has virtually a full squad at his disposal though Nathan Wilde has suffered a dislocated collar bone and is out of action for up to three months.
Inside our special eight-page Leigh Leopards pull-out to coincide with Super League launch there are interviews with Josh Charnley, Zak Hardaker and captain John Asiata.
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