Leigh Centurions 22 - 14 Hull KR
By Dave Parkinson.
Against all the odds bottom of the table Leigh turned the form book on it's head and showed more spirit than their Humberside bogey team in every aspect of play.
Signs were ominous as Hull KR outmuscled the Leigh pack in the first 15 minutes with little hooker Mike Dixon at the hub of everything. Despite this early pressure, all Rovers had to show for their efforts was a try to the prolific Gary Atkins converted by Mike Fletcher.
As the game entered its second quarter, Leigh grew in confidence with debut halfback James Arkwright keeping a tight watch over PNG superstar Stanley Gene.
Anthony Murray brought the crowd to life, taking the ball from dummy half and accelerating through a hole on the blindside before finding Hadcroft in support. In a 30 metre move Alan Hadcroft drew the defence before sending Jason O'Loughlin galloping over for six points.
Paul Wingfield briefly put Leigh in front with a well struck penalty before another try from Atkins gave Rovers a narrow 10-8 advantage at the break.
Leigh made a good start to the second half, and scoring two tries in the first 8 minutes. It was a direct punishment for Wayne Jackson's lapse of discipline late in the first half that earned the Rovers player a spell in the sinbin. Those tries also established a matchwinning lead.
The Centurions attacked Rovers and on the last tackle, Murray found Phil Kendrick and the big centre was able to offload for Arkwright to skip through a static line for a clinical score. Wingfield added the extras and converted the best try of the game on 48 minutes.
On-form Alan Hadcroft carved his way down the wing in a 40 metre break and sent Kendrick clear with a well judged pass.
Nine minutes later, Leigh almost scored again when a thunderous run from Tau Liku was supported by Keiron Purtill. The referee spotted a marginal forward pass however and disallowed the try.
Mike Bibby then went over for Rovers.
Leigh tried to close the game down, twice missing that all important field-goal.
Hull KR continued to threaten but Leigh's defence held firm for the last few minutes with David Whittle and Tim Street outstanding. They were closely followed by consistent captain John Costello and the irrepressible Murray, who caused problems for Rovers all afternoon.
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