Catalans Dragons 40 Leigh Centurions 36.

Julien Bousquet’s last minute touch down condemned battling Leigh to an end of season Middle 8’s scrap for their coveted Super League status.

Making the Super 8’s was always going to be a tall order for head coach Neil Jukes’ Centurions.

Now, with three games remaining of the regular season and already seven points off eighth position, it’s not mathematically possible for Leigh to avoid a bottom four finish.

The task now is to try and secure ninth or 10th to claim an extra home game in the Middle 8’s Even that looks a tough task but Centurions showed plenty of endeavour in the Perpignan sun to suggest they have what it takes to stay up.

On the flip side, however, Jukes and his coaching team will want to eradicate any repeat of slackness that allowed the Dragons to recover from 18-0, 28-12 and 36-34 down.

Ben Reynolds contributed 20 points to Leigh’s total with two tries and six goals while Sam Hopkins also crashed over for a first half try double.

But the visitors, roared on by in excess of 1,000 Leythers for this first trip to Perpignan, managed only eight points in the second period.

“In the first half we were very dominant, “agreed Jukes. “We won a lot of the collisions and on the back of that we had a very strong penalty count in our favour.

“We spoke about the penalty count swinging away from us in the second half and in the first set we gave away a penalty and that set the tone for the second half.

"We couldn't get any penalties and there was a tough call on Matty Dawson where he's had the ball reefed away from him and that led to a Catalans try.

"Naturally we are disappointed, there are some good things that we can take away but obviously we still have some things to work on.

“We've got to get some consistencies in our game across the board and get a little bit of looseness out of our game and keep striving to get an 80-minute performance."

Leigh, welcoming back Adam Higson from a five-game suspension, started superbly.

Matty Dawson, on his 100th career appearance, crossed after six minutes quickly followed by Danny Tickle and Reynolds; all tries goaled by Reynolds.

Jodie Broughton and Mickael Simon hit back for Steve McNamara’s side only for Hopkins to add two more Leigh touch downs before the break.

Tries from Fouad Yaha and Vincent Duport plus a Luke Walsh conversion made it a six-points ball game with still half and hour remaining.

Reynolds grabbed his second try by following up Josh Drinkwater’s smart kick after 54 minutes to make it 34-22.

Dragons weren’t finished, however, and levelled the game as Walsh converted tries from Sam Moa and Justin Horo’s first of the year.

Reynolds’ 73rd minute penalty restored Centurions’ advantage only for Bousquet to wreck the hopes of only a second ever Super League away win.

Match stats: Catalans Catalans Dragons: Gigot; Broughton, Inu, Duport, Yaha; Walsh, Myler; Moa, Aiton, Casty, Bird, Horo, Baitieri; substitute: Anderson, Bousquet, Garcia, Simon.

Tries: Broughton (23), Simon (31), Yaha (47), Duport (49), Moa (59), Horo (70), Bousquet (80); Goals: Walsh 6/ 7.

Leigh Centurions: Brown; Dawson, Crooks, Fleming, Higson; Reynolds, Drinkwater; Tickle, Hood, Acton, Paterson, Hansen, Stewart; substitute: Pelissier, Maria, Hopkins, Burr.

Goals: Walsh 6/7 Leigh: Tries: Dawson (6), Tickle (12), Reynolds (17 and 54), Hopkins (36 and 39).

Goals: Reynolds 6/7 Referee: Gareth Hewer Attendance: 8,728