AFTER Centurions’ run of 18 Championship wins was ended by Doncaster, full focus has now switched to Saturday's clash with Keighley.

The Cougars are one of a clutch of clubs wrestling to stay in the division and were the closest side before the weekend to lowering Leigh's colours all season.

"The competition is intense," head coach Paul Rowley said. "There are only a few points separating the rest of the competition beneath the top four and it's getting tougher with each passing week.

"All these teams have something to prove and a couple of points make all the difference to whether a team is looking up to the play-offs or down to a relegation scrap.

“Keighley are certainly one of those teams and Paul March will have them well prepared for the weekend.

"We weren't happy with how we lost at Doncaster but we aren't going to feel sorry for ourselves.

“We had enough class to win that game despite the injuries and although there were some very good performances there were also three or four players who didn't perform.

"We are an honest club so those players will be informed in review this week and we'll go strong again."

After missing the last two games, Leigh are hoping Martyn Ridyard can make a comeback while Cameron Pitman has been catching the eye in the reserves.

"What people might not know is that Cameron lost about five kilos of mass when he was out injured but he is pushing for inclusion,” added Rowley.

Last week Centurions announced the recruitment of former Hull KR and Castleford forward Johnny Walker, and he made a try scoring debut in a 62-24 reserves rout of Featherstone Rovers.

"Johnny has some work to do," Rowley said. “But he is relishing that challenge and we are going to get him stuck into some hard work for a couple of weeks.

“He showed some touches of what he's capable of but he's just off the pace a bit. The best thing is that he's keen to get stuck in and into some hard work."

The reserves play against Sheffield at 3.45pm on the LSV pitch ahead of the 6.30pm kick off for the main event.

Meanwhile the Leigh boss has lamented the current dual-contract system.

"How are we supposed to review?" Rowley asked. "How can we do a review on an NRL halfback (Miller) and a current Super League dream team player (Crooks)?

"If that is the way we are going, we might as well not have a level three coaching course as a big part of that is review.

"It's tantamount to manipulation of results in some cases and it’s wrong. It doesn't sit comfortably with me.

“You could if you wanted to take it to the extreme, have a Super League coach who dislikes a Championship coach, manipulate their partner club on that week to achieve a result. Five quality players could be put in, it's just a farce."