LEIGH Centurions will renew old rivalries with Halifax at The Shay on Sunday brimming with confidence after kicking off their Kingstone Press Championship defence with a thrilling victory over Bradford Bulls.

The Centurions put down a marker with the 36-24 win in front of a crowd of 7,499 – their biggest ever gate at the Sports Village – coming from 20-6 down at half time to win the second period 30-4.

Head coach Paul Rowley was understandably delighted with the result against the team fresh out of Super League, but will look for an improvement in performance as his players get into their stride.

"We can play a lot better than that,” Rowley said. “If you take the technical (aspect of the performance) and don't concentrate on it, then the game had everything, it had the drama, it had the tries and the bloodshed.

"We can be far better than that and while we scored 30-4 in that second half, which is a tremendous effort, we still weren't at our best technically. But that's a good sign and we'll look to get better.

"It's given us plenty to work on, but in a way it was good to get the game done. It had been built up, everyone was excited and the anticipation was there.

"It was good to get it off our back and settle into what we do best now, which is playing week to week and being consistent as a team.

"I'm glad it's over with, although it was certainly a good day. We've surely recruited a few new supporters who haven't been for a while who will now want to come back."

The Centurions go into the Halifax game without Adam Higson, who has a broken hand.

"To lose Adam is a big blow because I think he is an exceptional player. He's quite imposing, he's a big fella and I think his game has come on in leaps and bounds since he rejoined our club," Rowley said, weighing up the loss of the winger.

"We don’t have the biggest squad in the division - Featherstone and Halifax have bigger squads - but we have a squad that is full of quality. It will offer an early opportunity for other players.”

Relishing the prospect of locking horns again with Halifax, Rowley added: "We've had a bit of rivalry with Halifax over the past few seasons. They’ve been good for the league, as have we, because they're brilliantly supported, like Bradford last week.

"We know there's going to be a good atmosphere again and we know about Halifax. They were a fantastic team last year. They have recruited better this year and probably have more strength in the areas they needed to improve. It's going to be a really difficult game."

Tonight (Thursday) the Centurions will take on a Leigh Miners/East Select in the Steve Maden Testimonial game at Leigh East’s xzxzx ground.

Admission is £5 for adults and £2 for concessions with Maden donating a pound for every person at the game to the Team Isaac fund, supporting the sick nephew of his team-mate Kurt Haggerty.