Leigh head coach Adrian Lam believes last year’s dramatic Betfred Challenge Cup final win over Hull KR at Wembley laid the foundations for the club to become a recognised force at the top of the domestic game.

Lachlan Lam’s golden-point drop goal sealed a 17-16 win and sealed a stunning first season back in the top-flight for the newly rebranded Leopards, who also defied expectations by reaching the end-of-season play-offs.

Second-season syndrome has struck this term with the Leopards currently languishing in ninth place as they prepare to reprise their Wembley showdown when they head to Craven Park to face buoyant Rovers in the quarter-finals this Saturday.

But Lam, who concedes KR will be “red hot favourites” for their latest meeting, is confident that the lessons learned from their success in the last campaign will stand them in good stead for the foreseeable future.

He said: “The Challenge Cup was one of the greatest moments for the club in the past century, and it created some memories that we will keep in our hearts – not just the players and staff but the whole town.

“Our town hasn’t had too much to cheer about over the last 50 years, and this has really given it some hope and a breath of fresh air, for people to be able to come down and support a team that they know has a chance of winning every week.

“And I think for supporters of other sports, they know who we are now. We have etched our name in the history and folklore, and as a club we have given ourselves an identity for people to watch and support.”

Leigh will go into the game on the back of consecutive derby defeats to Wigan and Salford, in contrast to KR, who have scored three straight wins including last week’s 50-10 triumph over rock-bottom London.

Lam described Rovers’ recent form as “scintillating”, and suggested the hosts will be up for the fight in light of what happened at Wembley last year: “They will be emotionally connected to that, so we have to match it,” he added.

However, Rovers head coach Willie Peters insists the tumult of last year’s Wembley occasion will play no part in their quest to build on their promising early-season form and seal their place in the semi-finals.

“A lot of people will be talking about what happened last year, but we’re certainly not,” said Peters.

“It’s a different year, a new year. It’s the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup in 2024. All we’re focusing on is going out there this weekend and getting a result.”

Leigh are likely to be boosted by the return of prop Tom Amone after a month out with a foot injury, while Jez Litten will return for Rovers in place of Ben Reynolds, who is cup-tied.

Adrian Lam is determined to prove Leigh’s stunning 2023 season was no fluke.

Fuelled by an off-field rebranding campaign, the promoted Leopards not only charged up the Super League table on their top-flight return but dramatically won the Challenge Cup for the first time in 52 years.

After spending most of the summer era toiling in the lower tiers – with just three fleeting single-season campaigns in Super League amid numerous financial crises – it marked an extraordinary turnaround.

The challenge now for their dynamic former Wigan coach Lam is to prove it was no flash in the pan, as he fears many people suspect.

“I think people underestimated us last year,” said Lam, who was named coach of the year after following up cup success with a fifth-placed finish.

“I think people probably still doubt that we can do it and potentially feel that we may have got lucky, so we’ve still got a few people to prove wrong.

“We’re aware that it’s going to be that little bit harder because everyone’s aware of us.

“But we’ve added 10 new players to the group and hopefully they can bring something to us, while we’ve not lost many. We’ve just got to believe really, and have that consistency.”

Lam is pleased with how his squad has been rejigged over the winter. While a host of new faces have arrived, a core of key players including Dream Team entrants John Asiata, Robbie Mulhern, Josh Charnley, Edwin Ipape and the coach’s son Lachlan Lam have all been retained.

Among the new signings is former Penrith and Cronulla playmaker Matt Moylan, a one-cap Australia international, who looks set to play alongside Lam junior in the halves.

Lam senior said: “I think the new players that have come in are definitely better players, to add to the squad and to make us better.

“That’s all really exciting. We’ve just got to make sure that we gel off the field. By doing that we get the trust on the field.

“I think that the goal will be to finish higher than we did last year, so that would be in the top four.

“I think that’s a realistic goal but it’s going to take a lot of hard work. We’re aware of that but we’re a club that’s on the up and we want to show that’s what we’re capable of.”

The Leopards, who beat Warrington 28-12 in a pre-season friendly last weekend, begin their Super League campaign when they host Huddersfield on February 16.

Wakefield head coach Mark Applegarth accepted responsibility for his side’s relegation from the Betfred Super League after their dramatic 20-19 golden point defeat at Leigh.

Applegarth said he was “hurt” by his side’s failure to extend their unlikely survival battle into the final week of the season but said they would face up to the prospect of Championship rugby next year.

He said: “I’m hurt, it stings, and as head coach the responsibility is on my shoulders.

“It sunk in as soon as I saw that drop goal go over. All I can do is apologise to our fans but I can tell them that we will be back.

“I’d like to think most of the fans can’t question any of the lads’ efforts. Skill, execution and composure is probably what has let us down, but definitely not effort.”

Wakefield’s survival bid looked bleak after Tom Briscoe opened the scoring for Leigh with just four minutes on the clock but two opportunist tries from Lee Kershaw early in the second half pulled them back on level terms.

Gareth O’Brien’s late drop goal looked to have won it for Leigh before Luke Gale kicked Wakefield into the extra period with just 19 seconds left on the clock – only for O’Brien to convert the decisive effort of a frantic extra period.

Applegarth was left to reflect on a season in which a stirring recovery could not hide the fact that 14 straight defeats at the start of the season proved too much to overcome.

“Ultimately the league table doesn’t lie and we weren’t good enough,” added Applegarth.

“We’ve got some tough decisions to make and we’ve got some improvements to make. We’ve got to be honest with each other and look at why this has happened.

“My job is to make sure we bounce straight back up. They (Leigh) flirted with it over the last few years and they’ve nailed it, so there’s a blueprint to follow right there.

“Mark my words, we will be back in Super League, and hopefully at the first time of asking.”

Leigh head coach Adrian Lam admitted his side were far from their best but praised their accomplishment at sealing a top six place with one week of the regular season still to go.

“I think we just looked a bit less tired after last week,” admitted Lam.

“There was a lot of stop-start to the game that kept them in it, and they got two tries against the run of play from dropped balls, so I was a bit nervous towards the end.

“But we just find a way to win this year in those situations, which has been so impressive with this bunch of boys and so many players out.

“I think some other clubs may have rolled over tonight but they just got bigger and stronger as the game went on.

“We’ve now got to try to build some confidence and belief off the back of that, and make sure we take it on.”

Zak Hardaker will strain every sinew to win the Betfred Challenge Cup this weekend for Adrian Lam after thriving under the care and attention of the Leigh head coach.

The Leopards defied pre-season predictions that they would struggle on their Super League comeback and, with just half a dozen matches of the regular campaign left, Lam’s side are currently joint second.

Leigh could cap a remarkable return to the big time by beating Hull KR at Wembley on Saturday and Hardaker has attributed the club being the breakout story of the year to former Wigan boss Lam.

Hardaker, who worked under the Papua New Guinean at the Warriors, has had a string of disciplinary issues throughout his career but believes he has matured under Lam at Leigh.

“I’ve just settled,” he told the PA news agency. “When I signed at Leigh, the big factor was Lammy wanting me, wanting to settle me down and get the old head switched on.

“I think he knows me better than me, to be fair. He just makes sure that I’m happy, not that I want that much. He makes sure everyone’s home life is pretty good and wants that to be in order first.

“As a coach, if everyone’s happy outside of rugby then the on-the-field stuff takes care of itself. He makes sure I’m alright and it’s lovely that he’s so caring and looks out for me like that.

“I try to repay him by training hard and playing well for him on the pitch. If I can do that on Saturday and get him a win, it would be pretty special.”

Leigh won 28 of their 29 fixtures in last year’s Championship, including brushing aside Batley in the Million Pound Game, but their three past promotions to the top table ended with immediate relegation.

They bolstered their ranks by bringing in players with proven Super League pedigree, with Hardaker joined by former Leeds team-mate Tom Briscoe and experienced forwards Oliver Holmes and Jack Hughes.

“We knew we had a chance to do something,” Hardaker said. “Bringing in many people from different clubs and trying to get them to gel so quickly might have been the biggest issue but everyone’s so close.

“It’s weird in a way because friendships and bonds sometimes take a couple of years and you get that bond over a long period of time, but we’ve got it in a short period of time.

“We enjoy coming to training, we all have a laugh and a joke but when it’s time to get serious, we train hard. Every game’s been great. Even when we’ve lost, we’ve had big learning curves.”

Hardaker bagged a try as Leigh toppled St Helens – the winners of the past four Grand Finals who triumphed in the World Club Challenge earlier this year – last month to reach the Wembley showpiece.

Leigh’s last visit to the famous stadium was 52 years ago while this latest trip will just be their second overall, so the magnitude of the occasion is not lost on Hardaker.

He said: “We’ve seen pictures from then – what they did and the parade they had and all the fans in the street. It gives you that buzz of what it means and we’re going to try our hardest to recreate that.”

Hardaker has only had to wait eight years for another crack at cup-final glory. Back then, his Leeds side demolished Hull KR 50-0 and he ended the season as the Super League’s Man of Steel.

But in that same year, he was arrested for assault while in 2018 he was sacked by Castleford for failing a drugs test for cocaine before serving a driving ban shortly after being signed by Wigan.

Last year, he was released by the Warriors just days after coach Matt Peet said Hardaker had “dipped below the standards” expected of a Wigan player, but the 31-year-old has redeemed himself at Leigh.

“Winning the cup this weekend would mean everything,” he added. “It would definitely be up there with one of the best achievements I’ve got so far.”

Leigh captain John Asiata insists he always believed his side could do “something special” as they prepare for their Challenge Cup semi-final against St Helens.

The loose forward has been part of the team which have shocked Super League this season, winning 12 of their last 13 games in all competitions and setting up the chance to reach their first Challenge Cup final since 1971.

The former NRL star, who played for North Queensland Cowboys and Brisbane Broncos, brings a wealth of experience to the Leopards, having won the NRL grand final in 2015 and the 2016 World Club Challenge.

Now, the Australian has a different task at hand as he aims to continue Leigh’s stunning run with a Wembley appearance at stake, and he always believed his side could do the unthinkable.

Asiata told the PA news agency: “I said it at the beginning of the year that I trust this group and we are going to do something special this year.

“We are doing that at the moment and now we have to just keep going. Coming here, I did not understand why I was coming here but it was a door that God opened for me and since I’ve been here it’s been nothing but great things so I’m very happy.

“This year is all about making history and this is another opportunity to do that.”

Asiata has been one of Super League’s standout performers this season, leading the way for the most carries with 441, but he has also received help from a number of other key players such as Tom Briscoe and top try-scorer Josh Charnley.

The skipper hailed the team effort which has seen Leigh climb to second in the league and helped them recently come from 12 points down to beat Salford away 24-22 for the first time since 1981.

He continued: “As a group we set some goals in the beginning of the year but we have created a bunch that believe in each other’s ability to do the job.

“No matter where you are on the field, no matter how tired you can be, there is going to be someone else just as tired as you and we’ve built a very solid foundation for the new guys to jump on board.

“It’s just been awesome to see the boys achieve what they have done so far and we have a coach that is leading the way and helping us do that.”

Leopards earned a 20-12 victory over Saints in their meeting earlier in the season and sit two places above their semi-final opponents in the league.

Despite their superiority this season, Asiata insists Leigh have no mental advantage over St Helens and believes Saints are still the favourites heading into the game at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

He said: “It’s a whole different ball game when it comes to semi-final footy. It’s going to be a whole different Saints team that we are playing.

“They have been there and done that and are world champions for a reason but I am excited for the challenge because if you want to be the best you have to beat the best.

“I think Saints will be favourites which I don’t mind being the underdogs. If you look at the beginning of the year, nobody gave us a chance to do anything and that’s the good thing about our game.”