LEIGH LEOPARDS head coach Adrian Lam says David Armstrong’s withdrawal was precautionary in their win over Warrington Wolves.
Fullback Armstrong came off at half-time after struggling for much of the first half and Lam revealed the issue was a pre-existing one.
“He strained his quad in the last session of the week. It was 50/50 to play him today but I made the decision to play him,” said Lam.
“He got a cork (bruise) in the middle of it. He probably could have come out in the second half but we made a decision, with what’s ahead in the next month or so for us, it was more important we power on without him and save him from any further injury.”
Leigh closed out an impressive victory without Armstrong, moving up to third in the table.
Lam added: “I was really pleased with the first 65 minutes, then we let them back in the last 15 minutes and had a bit of a slip.
“We’re in third spot now on the ladder. This time last year we’d only won one game so we’re sitting pretty decent there, and we’re 80 minutes from Wembley.
“We’ve also got a lot of injuries in the squad so taking that into consideration, as a coach I’m really proud. We’re only going to get better as a group.”
The Leopards could have closed out their win in more comfortable fashion had two tries not been disallowed in the first half.
The coach said: “I couldn’t see what they said about Lachy Lam’s try (ruled out for interference by an offside Gareth O’Brien).
“The other one (scored by Armstrong but chalked off for an obstruction by Frankie Halton) I thought it was a try.
“I’m a bit frustrated with that because in these big games you need to score those tries when you’ve created them.”
