Drinkwater was released at short notice. Having played for Leigh before, he might not have wanted to come back anyway. Not every player has a good experience at the LSV.
I would have thought O'Brien would have been a good choice, but he did not look good in the halves against Leeds, but is solid at Fullback. Hardaker is one of the best Fullbacks in the comp, but we are weak in the Centre position. Chamberlain had a good season in the Championship, but he looked out of place during the World Cup, and fluffed a couple of good opportunities.
Overall Leigh are looking competitive in defence but have no cutting edge in attack. Lam cannot be expected to lift the team on his own. Mellor is a big loss, and Reynolds might be a trier but he lacks game management.
Ipape carrying an injury is not helping with our attack. No sniping from dummy half and the second rowers are not finding any gaps as a consequence.
It is early days, but there are no easy games in this league.