Now Higham mighty Leigh in shake-up

NEIL JUKES is insisting his Leigh side will not get carried away after breathing new life into the Qualifiers.

Rugby league’s system has attracted criticism, not least because of some onesided scorelines after the mid-season split.

But with hooker Micky Higham rolling back the clock with a vintage display, the Centurions erased memories of last year’s disappointment in this competition with a gutsy win against Super League Salford.

Coach Jukes said: “From a neutral point of view, people probably wanted somebody to throw themselves into the mix and we’ve done that. But we’ve got some real tough games coming up and we’re not counting our chickens. One thing we’ve learned from last year is that win, lose or draw you’ve got to dust yourselves down and go again.”

Jukes’ Centurions certainly took the game to their opponents in a frenetic first half that saw them lead 20-10, with Reni Maitua and Cory Paterson touching down.

Mason Caton-Brown raced clear from 60 metres, but Leigh’s Gregg McNally crossed.

A Niall Evalds try closed the gap, and Robert Lui’s try piled on the pressure before Higham stepped forward to create a try for the equally outstanding Adam Higson.

Matty Dawson’s effort soon after looked to have settled matters, although late Red Devils tries from Ben Murdoch-Masila and Caton-Brown provided a grandstand finale.

LEIGH.– Tries: Maitua, Paterson, McNally, Higson, Dawson; Goals: Ridyard 6.

SALFORD.– Tries: Caton-Brown 2, Evalds, Lui, Murdoch-Masila; Goals: O’Brien 3.