2005 Season Reports: LEIGH CENTURIONS 0 LEEDS RHINOS 74

LEIGH CENTURIONS 0
LEEDS RHINOS 74
Dave Parkinson from The Coliseum.

This was a game of contrasting fortunes and emotions as Leeds scored 14 tries to leapfrog St Helens at the engage Super League summit; while, in stark contrast, the Centurions became the first team to be relegated from the competition in 2005, conceding a record home defeat in the process.

This result capped off a particularly turbulent week for the Leigh club which saw the departure of Head Coach Darren Abram, a mild heart attack for Director of Rugby Alex Murphy, injury and illness affecting a number of players and also caretaker coach Tommy Martyn who was only able to take one training session in the build-up to the game.

“It’s not been a very good week overall.” Was the simple appraisal of caretaker coach Tommy Martyn.

“I think it shows just what a good job Darren was doing. I think he has done a tremendous job and that shows that you can’t just pick a team, and pick a gameplan and expect the team to do it. You’ve got to use methods behind your coaching. He was very shrewd was Darren.”

“I thought we set off alright but we just lacked a bit of leadership in midfield and a kicking game. It showed how much we miss John Duffy. But this is something the young lads like Liam Coleman, Jay Duffy and Keiron Maddocks can learn from they were playing against some of the best in the world. I think today Leeds showed why they are one of the best teams in the world. We had a good warm-up but class told in the end.”

Leigh competed very well during the opening quarter, only conceding when Ryan Bailey drove over after 16 minutes for a try converted by Lee Smith. Leigh continued to vary things in attack but lacked the size to break the Rhinos.

An incident in the 20th minute saw Rob Jackson and Craig Stapleton placed on report for a tackle which dumped Andrew Dunemann and from the penalty, play moved wide for Keith Senior sent Smith over for a try.

Five minutes later Warren Stevens appeared to have been obstructed when chasing a kick that led to Smith returning the ball 40 metres – only being denied a try by a committed chase from Rob Smyth. With the defence in disarray Leeds took advantage when Diskin flipped a pass out in heavy traffic and Danny Ward crashed over underneath the posts.

Debutant Liam Coleman took the field after 32 minutes and his first touch of the ball saw him break the Leeds line off Nick Owens pass.

“I thought Liam Coleman should have been our man of the match.” Tommy Martyn told the assembled media after the game. “He certainly stepped up and put Leeds on the backfoot a couple of times.”

That promising move came to nought however when Richard Mathers tackled well, then showed presence of mind to dive on the ball ahead of a despairing dummy half.

From this position Leeds went wide and Dunemann fed Mark Calderwood who sprinted clear and rounded the fullback for his 100th try for the Headingley club. Smith converted and that looked to be it for the half. Never discount Leeds. With one final sweeping move after Maguire hot-stepped his way through the Leigh defence, play went to the left and Senior scored by the corner flag.

The Centurions trailed 26-0 at the break and their line was intact for just four minutes before Chev Walker got over from Chris McKenna’s inside pass. It was at this point that Ashley Gibson entered the fray for an unforgettable debut. He had been on the field for less than when a delightful handling move presented him with his first senior try and by the end of the game he had increased his tally to 3 tries, 5 goals and a 22 point haul that earned rich praise from Leeds boss Tony Smith.

“When Gibson comes on and scores a hat-trick in his first 35 minutes in rugby league at Super League level that’s pretty outstanding.”

Leeds were far from finished and Mathers crossfield kick was palmed back by Walker for Calderwood to claim his 30th try of the season after 53 minutes.

The following nine minutes saw Leigh play their best spell of rugby but their spirited resistance ended when Ben Cooper put down a difficult interception attempt after 61 minutes. From their next possession Leeds scored again through Chris McKenna and a mesmerising spell of five tries in the final 14 minutes carried the Rhinos to their biggest away victory of Super League X.

Gibson’s second on 66 minutes was the try of the game as McKenna, Senior and Calderwood cut Leigh open and Danny Mcguire found the debut man.

Two minutes later, Owen brought down a rampaging Bailey but from the play-the-ball Mcguire and Diskin combined for Gibson’s hat-trick. Further tries by McGuire (twice against a tired defence) and Bailey’s second of the game, both converted by Gibson, forced the Centurions first shut-out since March 1998.

Smith praised the “professional attitude” of his players, particularly hooker Matt Diskin and second rower Chris McKenna. “He controlled that ruck area and was probably a bit unlucky not to get few more penalties.” He said of Diskin “It was one of those days where things worked out well. Chris McKenna was on fire for us.”

Gamebreaker: Walkers 44th minute try set the Rhinos juggernaut underway in the second half and they had too much pace and size for Leigh to handle.

Gamestar: Matt Diskin showed he is returning to the form which saw him claim a Great Britain Tri-Nations berth last season and much more of this should see him pencilled into Brian Noble’s international squad again in November.

Top Tackle: Nick Owens magnificent effort to halt a charging Ryan Bailey after 68 minutes.

MATCH FACTS:

LEIGH:
24 John Wilshere
14 Steve Maden
8 Rob Jackson
1 Ben Cooper
19 Rob Smyth
10 Jason Kent
28 Jay Duffy
4 Darren Fleary (C)
30 Keiron Maddocks
20 Craig Stapleton
15 Richard Marshall
11 Oliver Wilkes
13 Mark Leafa
SUBS (ALL USED)
31 Warren Stevens
21 Matt Sturm
33 Liam Coleman (D)
26 Nick Owen

Tries: -
Goals: -
On-Report: Rob Jackson & Craig Stapleton (20 – Dangerous Tackle)

LEEDS:
1 Richard Mathers
2 Mark Calderwood
3 Chev Walker
4 Keith Senior (C)
23 Lee Smith
6 Danny McGuire
14 Andrew Denemann
8 Ryan Bailey
9 Matt Diskin
15 Danny Ward
16 Willie Poching
12 Chris McKenna
20 Gareth Ellis
SUBS (ALL USED)
10 Barrie McDermott
11 Ali Lauitiiti
22 Nick Scruton
29 Ashley Gibson (D)

Tries: Bailey (16, 78), Smith (21), Ward (26), Calderwood (34, 53), Senior (40), Walker (44), Gibson (47, 66, 68), McKenna (62), McGuire (74, 76)

Goals: Smith 4/8, Gibson 5/6.

Referee: Ronnie Laughton (Barnsley)
Penalties: 6-6
Half-time Score: 0-26
GLDO 0-0
Attendance: 4,922.

Scoring Sequence:
0-6; 0-10; 0-16; 0-22; 0-26; 0-32; 0-36; 0-40; 0-44; 0-50; 0-56; 0-62; 0-68; 0-74.