Near-Leigh off the mark
CENTURIONS THREATEN FIRST WIN
30 Catalans
JULie stott
KURT HAGGERTY hailed his gutsy basement boys after they almost stunned new leaders Catalans into submission.
The Centurions have now lost all 10 games but they put the frighteners on the Dragons and will surely win soon if they repeat this performance.
Haggerty (below), in his second game in charge, said: “I am disappointed for the group because I thought we could steal the game at the end.
“For us to claw our way back and defend desperately for each other was a fantastic stepping stone for us.
“There are loads of good things to take forward. I am really pleased with the effort, especially when it got tough.
“The spirit in the camp has improved drastically. They are coming together and that is why we are still in games.”
There was plenty to inspire the caretaker coach, plus a raucous home ground, in both the first half and then again in a late second-half rally.
It took them just two minutes to prove that there is still plenty of fight in them despite their dire start to the season.
Stand-off Ben Reynolds intercepted a James Maloney pass and took off on an unstoppable 95 metres charge to the try line.
It lit the touch paper to a terrific tussle and minutes later Brendan
Elliot repeated the interception trick for their second try.
His effort was only from a few metres out but it was cheered just as loudly as Reynolds’ long-range try.
And more was to come with back-rower Matty Gee throwing a superb dummy to race over for their third converted touchdown.
Catalans kept in touch with efforts from Josh Drinkwater and Maloney but at 18-12 down at halftime they knew they were in a battle.
They finally showed the form that has helped take them top of the table in a devastating second-half spell. Four tries in 12 minutes from Samisoni Langi, Tom Davies, Benjamin Jullien and Arthur Mourgue, plus four Maloney goals, gave them a seemingly commanding 18-point lead.
But Leigh refused to give up the fight and it was the bottom side, rather than the top, who finished the stronger.
Tries from Ben Hellewell and Ryan Brierley cut the gap to six points with five minutes left, setting up a frenetic finish. Dragons coach Steve McNamara said: “Leigh were tremendous today and we came up with a substandard performance.
“I’d like to credit the opposition but we were so far off today. It was a big reality check for us.
“It’s a silver lining to go top but it’s only June. If we continue to play like that we won’t stay there.”
LeiGh: Tries: Reynolds, Elliot, Gee, Hellewell, Brierley. Cons: Brierley (5). CataLans: Tries: Drinkwater, Maloney, Langi, Davies, Jullien, Mourgue.
Pen: Maloney. Cons: Maloney (5).