JOSH Charnley is dreaming of a potential grand final send-off after Leigh Leopards kept their Betfred Super League title dreams alive with the latest of late shows in Friday’s 20-16 win over Warrington Wolves.
The Leopards were 14-2 down with 15 minutes to play in the Round 20 clash at Leigh Sports Village, but two converted tries from Umyla Hanley dragged them back into the contest before Owen Trout crashed over to give them the lead for the first time with four minutes to play.
That made it four wins on the bounce for Adrian Lam’s side and saw them narrow the gap to borough rivals Wigan Warriors to one point, with winger Charnley, who is out of contract at the end of the season, eyeing an Old Trafford appearance on October 11.
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WHAT A FINISH 🙌
The Leopards come from behind to win 👏#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/1X4OdgB1AF
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) August 1, 2025
“Every year you set standards on winning silverware, don’t you?” Charnley, a grand final winner with Wigan in 2013 and 2016, told BBC Radio Five Live.
“We’re knocking every game off each week and if we can keep winning we’ll put ourselves in a good position for that end of the year at Old Trafford.
“There is a lot of belief in the team, we’ve got a lot of talent and everyone works hard.
“Hopefully we can keep building and, at the end of the year, we’ll be in the right place at the right time.”
The top two of Super League leaders Hull KR and reigning champions Wigan, plus the side directly below them in the table in St Helens, had all been beaten by third-placed Leigh in the matches prior to the visit of Warrington.
The Leopards had to do it tough though, with the Wolves having the better of the possession 54-46 percent, more play-the-balls in the opponents’ 20 (24-16), and an 81 percent completion rate compared to Leigh’s 72 percent per Stats Perform.
The hosts had to make 305 tackles to 262 by Warrington as well, and Charnley hailed the belief in the squad as key in seeing them mount a comeback after Warrington fullback Matt Dufty had a try ruled out for an obstruction in the build-up.
“We’re a tight-knit group,” Charnley said. “We’ve built a lot of confidence in the past month.
“We’ve played the top three teams in the country and Warrington were no pushover, but the belief and brotherhood in the team – we’re doing a lot of things together.
“It’s just showing we’re well-connected and we can grind out wins like we’ve done tonight.
“We’re challenging for the top two and there is a lot of belief in the team, and hopefully we can keep this going.”