Lions are tamed by Centurions
LEIGH bounced back from last week’s disappointing defeat to 14-man Featherstone with a comprehensive 54-10 victory over SWINTON at Leigh Sports Village.
Kieron Purtill handed debuts to Leigh East pair Bradley Whelan and Sam Peet - both of whom crossed for the Centurions - while their East team-mate Ryan Gray made his first appearance for the Lions. The home side led 24-10 at the break thanks to tries from Kevin Larroyer, Ben Reynolds, Jordan Walne and Peet, while Kyle Shelford and captain Andy Thornley touched down for Swinton.
The Centurions racking up another 30 unanswered points after the break with scores from Drew Hutchison, Larroyer, Whelan and two for Greg Richards.
Jack Fox’s try on the stroke of halftime meant ROCHDALE trailed 10-4 at the break at Batley, but Alan Kilshaw’s side held a two-point lead on the hour mark thanks to a quickfire double from Deon Cross. However, the Bulldogs fought back in the closing stages and a late three-try flurry secured a 26-12 win for Matt Diskin’s side.
The results mean that ahead of Friday’s crucial RFL Council meeting to decide the structure for 2019 and beyond, Swinton and Rochdale occupy the two relegation spots in the Betfred Championship.
In League 1, OLDHAM put in a brave showing at league leaders York City Knights, but fell to a 10-6 defeat. The Knights scored all of their points in the first half and Jack Holmes’ try inside the final five minutes was the only time the Roughyeds could get on the scoreboard.