HEAVEN CENTS
Centurions tear Warriors apart
LIAM HOOD stole two dummyhalf tries in four minutes to help Leigh end 33 years of hurt in the “Battle of the Borough.”
The Centurions had not beaten their near neighbours since September 1984, a run of 19 straight defeats.
But Neil Jukes’ side, who started the night at the foot of Super League, totally outplayed their big-name rivals.
Hooker Hood scored two carbon-copy tries early in the second half, soon after Mitch Brown had poached a similar effort in a manner that will bitterly disappoint Wigan boss Shaun Wane.
It gave Leigh enough of a cushion to record a memorable derby win and extend the Warriors’ run to seven league games without a win.
Leigh led 20-14 after a breathless first half. They dominated much of the opening 40 minutes after the prolific Liam Marshall (above) had crossed early on for Wigan.
The tide turned when former Warrior Ryan Hampshire intercepted a Joe Burgess pass and raced 90 metres to score. Josh Drinkwater then created two tries in five minutes to put his side three scores up. His well-timed pass sent another ex-Wigan man Danny Tickle over, before his kick ended with Lachlan Burr making it 18-4.
But the momentum then switched to the visitors courtesy of two quickfire responses. Sub Josh Ganson twisted over from close range, and minutes later the returning Oliver Gildart split the Leigh defence to send George Williams racing in. Williams had missed two conversions to leave the home side ahead, and Ben Reynolds stretched the interval lead to six points with a penalty just before the break.
Wigan closed that to two when Gildart sliced over soon after the restart, before Leigh took control. First Brown and then Hood twice in quick succession took advantage of poor defence to score from close range and make it 38-18.
Frank-Paul Nuuausala responded by barging over, but the contest was over soon after when Hood created a try for Cory Paterson.
Winger Matty Dawson brought up the half-century, before late Burgess and Ganson efforts that proved scant consolation for a shellshocked Wigan outfit.