ADRIAN Lam insists there is no such thing as ‘daddy’s boy’ when it comes to coaching son Lachlan, even if some Leigh players have pounced on it.
The Leopards currently sit second in Super League after being promoted and tomorrow play in their first Challenge Cup final since 1987.
If they are to beat St Helens and end a 52-year Wembley wait, it is a fair bet half back Lachlan will be at the heart of the success.
But his old man is more than prepared to tell him where he goes wrong if the result does not go their way – as a coach, not a father.
Lam said: “I can separate the two really well, even though I spend a lot of time with him away from rugby, playing golf and sharing each other’s week.
“He’s my son and I didn’t have him for two years but on the rugby side, I’ve coached him since he was six-years-old at the Clovelly Crocodiles in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
“And he understands that when I’m frustrated with him there are no boundaries. It’s just honesty and he understands on different levels.
“I speak to him and the other players in the same way but he is like any other in the team room, he listens, asks questions and the happiest part for me is seeing his leadership grow.
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“But he never says dad. He’d get shot down by his team-mates if he did! And I never say son, even though some of the others throw little comments around.”
Lam has had Challenge Cup success before as a player, lifting the trophy in 2002 with Wigan, the club he later coached.
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But now he is on the other side of the borough, he believes he is a different leader than he was at the Warriors, a better one.
He added: “I’m slightly different. As a player or a coach, you make mistakes and from them, you get better.
“I think I’m a better coach now than I was last year when we won everything in the Championship and from when I was at Wigan, when we made a Grand Final.
“That’s all you can be as a person, better each year as you go along.
“And in the 2002 Challenge Cup, Wigan actually beat Leigh along the way to win – it’s eerie the way things have unfolded.”
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