Leigh fail to make qualifiers despite win
LEIGH ended a difficult week on a high with victory over Sheffield, but it wasn’t enough as results elsewhere meant the Centurions finished the Championship regular season in sixth position and will not progress to the Super 8 Qualifiers.
The club will receive around £1m less in central funding ahead of next season and with this outcome all-but guaranteed ahead of this round of fixtures, players had been permitted to seek moves elsewhere ahead of Friday’s transfer deadline, which a number of key personnel – including captain Harrison Hansen, Craig Hall and Peter Mata’utia – did.
But Kieron Purtill’s side – skippered by Micky Higham – recorded a 34-10 win at home to the Eagles, thanks to a hat-trick from Ilias Bergal, two tries for Matty Dawson-Jones and one apiece for Ricky Bailey and Will Dagger. At the other end of the table, SWINTON and ROCHDALE were both well beaten on trips to Yorkshire, suffering defeats to Batley and Halifax respectively.
The Bulldogs raced into a 40-2 lead over the Lions inside an hour, before Stuart Littler’s side hit back with late tries from Josh Barlow, Aaron Hall and Mike Butt.
Hornets took on a Fax side that needed a victory to secure their spot in the Qualifiers and never looked like missing out, quickly establishing a 22-0 half-time lead.
Lewis Hatton scored for Alan Kilshaw’s side just after the break, but the home side won 38-6 winners.
In League 1, OLDHAM staged a late fightback but ran out of time and wound up on the wrong end of a 26-22 scoreline at Doncaster.
Danny Langtree, Matt Reid and Dave Ecclestone got the Roughyeds’ tries, but Scott Naylor’s side are now 10 points adrift of Bradford and York at the top of the table.