Super League elimination round play-offs: Who will Wigan & Hull KR advance to the semi-finals?

Rowley called Salford’s eliminator against Leigh a battle between the underdogs and the Leopards, as if the Saints had done incredibly well to reach the play-offs.

Adrian Lam’s team lost their first three games in a row and lost seven of their first nine games in all competitions, but they won an impressive 10 of their last 12 games to reach the play-offs.

Their final game of the regular season was a convincing win over St Helens, a victory that saw them leapfrog their opponents and move into fifth place.

Asked by BBC Radio Manchester if beating Saints felt like a play-off game in itself, Lam said: “It was 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, if we had slipped one more time from round 12 to the end of the season, we wouldn’t have given ourselves a chance of getting into the six.”

Since promotion to the Super League in 2022 under Lam, Leopards have won the Challenge Cup and reached the play-offs in consecutive seasons. That they have achieved this feat this season against the backdrop of a long list of injuries at the start of the season makes it all the more appealing.

“We went through a tough time at the beginning of the year, with a lot of injuries, but we bounced back well and kept the faith and confidence. Friday night was a great night for us as a club,” Lam added.

“Even more importantly for our fans and for the players who are leaving, there was a big party afterwards to say goodbye and give them a fitting farewell.”