Super League eliminator play-offs: Who will join Wigan & Hull KR in semis?

Rowley labelled Salford’s play-off eliminator with Leigh a battle of the underdogs and that might be a term befitting of the Leopards.

Adrian Lam’s side lost their first three games on the bounce and were beaten in seven of their first nine games in all competitions, but won a remarkable 10 of their final 12 games to reach the play-offs.

Their final game of the regular season was an emphatic victory against St Helens – a win which meant they leapfrogged their opponents into fifth position.

Asked by BBC Radio Manchester if winning against Saints felt like a play-off game in itself, Lam said: “It’s been like that in the second half of the season. Obviously where we were on the ladder, every game was important to us.

“Looking back, even [against Saints] on Friday night, had we slipped up one more time from round 12 to the end of the season, we wouldn’t have been in a position to give ourselves a chance to be in the six.”

Since winning promotion to Super League in 2022 under Lam, the Leopards have won the Challenge Cup and finished in the play-offs in successive seasons – but to do so this term off the back of a long list of injuries at the beginning of the campaign makes it all the more sweeter.

“We’ve been through a difficult time at the start of the year with so many injuries but we rallied really well, kept the belief and trust and Friday night was an amazing night for us as a club,” Lam added.

“More importantly for our fans, and for the players that are leaving, there was certainly a big celebration after it to say goodbye and give [them] a fitting farewell.”