A CUMBRIAN sleepover threatened to contribute towards an unwanted nightmare for the Kingstone Press Championship leaders.

But the wake-up call from slumber land came just in time to save Leigh from an embarrassing result against the Derwent Park part-timers.

Trailing 18-16 approaching the final quarter, Leigh eventually took control, helped by Reni Maitua’s brace of tries, to complete an almost perfect Easter for coach Neil Jukes.

Only Andrew Dixon’s knee injury, expected to side line the back row forward for upto a month, took the shine off Centurions’ sixth league win in eight games.

“We were pleased we got the four points; that was the main focus,” said Jukes.

“It is renowned the Easter Monday games can be quite scruffy and ugly. Our’s was one of those.

“But I’d rather win scruffy and ugly than it being pretty and us losing. We showed some good character to comeback, similarly to what we did at Halifax.

“We were poor with the ball but put enough good sets with the ball together in the second half to come out with a well earned win.”

Jukes took his squad, depleted due to illness, for an overnight stop to get the best preparations for the game.

“That’s not all it’s made out to be,” he admitted. “You are not in your own bed and it’s a different environment so you don’t always get the good night’s sleep you want.

“But I still think it helped us getting over the line. The warm-up was good and we could see they were busted.

However, at times we worked too hard and tried to make stuff up and get them on the big plays.

“The penalty count didn’t allow us to build any pressure at all. We looked like the team with no energy because of what we did to ourselves.”

Centurions certainly had to work harder than they did for their 68-14 Challenge Cup success over the Cumbrians 10 days earlier despite Town’s squad at breaking point due to having 11 men under treatment.

Coach Phil Veivers even named three players on his bench knowing they wouldn’t take any part in the game.

Leigh, having trailed 8-0, led 16-14 at the break as Workington looked to bounce back from a 24-16 derby defeat at Whitehaven on Good Friday. Even then it needed Tom Armstrong’s try on the stroke of half-time to wrestle back the initiative.

Hampered by a lack of rotation off the bench Town still found the resolve to regain the lead through Brett Phillips and despite a missed conversion, Workington nosed in front at 18-16.

Centurions finally broke Town’s resistance with three tries in 12 second half minutes helped by Maitua’s double and a single from Sam Hopkins.

Fuifui Moimoi added to first half touch downs from Jake Emmitt, Harrison Hansen and Armstrong while Martyn Ridyard landed five goals.

Teams:

Workington: J Murphy; C Murphy, Whiteley, Mossop, Ritson; Forber, Sammut; Coward, Doran, Shackley, Phillips, Stack, McAvoy; subs: Carter, Gordon, Verlinden, Walker.

Tries: C. Murphy, Ritson, Sammut, Mossop, Phillips. Goals: Sammut (2)

Leigh: Smith; Higson, Whiting, Armstrong, Harper; Ridyard, Reynolds; Moimoi, Hood, Weston, Maitua, Dixon, Emmitt; subs: Higham, Hopkins, Hansen, Acton

Tries: Maitua (2), Emmitt, Hansen, Armstrong, Hopkins, Moimoi; Goals: Ridyard (5), Reynolds

Referee: Gareth Hewer

Attendance: 787