Centurions raring to go (From Leigh Journal)

Centurions raring to go

12:07pm Thursday 25th February 2010 in

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Leigh Centurions play their first league game of the season this evening at the LSV (7.30) against champions Barrow Raiders and Ian Millward and his squad are looking forward to the test, although frustrated by the loss of another fixture to the weather.

“We missed the Dewsbury game” he said.

“That would have been good for us, one, for confidence after playing Featherstone, two, it would have been a nice hard game leading in to Barrow who are the defending premiers of the Championship.

“We are fresh, ready to go and it should be a great game.

“I think it should be really good quality. It’s a massive benchmark in regard to can we become consistent? Can we reproduce the Featherstone performance? Can we put a dent in a team that won the comp last year and are strongly favoured to do so again? If it happens to be a loss, will it be a close loss?

“There’s a fine line. We are confident we can win but from a coaching point of view, I’m very keen to see if the players can back up from their last performance.”

The last time Leigh came into contact with the Raiders, who are now coached by former Whitehaven, Widnes and Gateshead boss Steve McCormack, it was an embarrassing seventy point drubbing at Craven Park.

“I’ve seen that happen a lot of times”, Millward said, “but look, it’s a new coach, a new way we go about things. I can’t comment on what previously happened but all it does is tell you that the team we are playing are a good team. It’s a big challenge for us. I think this is why it’s important we are at home. We want to try and get as many people as possible to the game to support us.

“The vocal support was good last game but I’d like to see more people here.”

“Things are heading in the right direction although results will ultimately be the barometer of that. We played well in the last game, we defended well and attacked well. Things we were practising at training with regards to our structure and shape and what we throw at opposition was starting to come to the fore and I think that had a lot to do with our 9, 7 and 6 playing better and Stuart Donlan played. Those four players are pretty important to us.

“I hadn’t been totally happy with the performance of those four areas but I thought against Featherstone we started playing well and because of that they were able to add some confidence and direction.”

Leigh are also set to call on all four dual contract signings for the first time meaning potential debuts for Matty Blythe and Challenge Cup winner Tyrone McCarthy this evening.

The Northern Rail Cup game with Dewsbury, postponed on Sunday due to snow, has been rearranged for Wednesday, March 3, 7.45pm kick-off.

In other news, all the Leigh sides have now confirmed dates and kick-off times for their Carnegie Challenge Cup games, meaning a whole weekend of rugby entertainment for local enthusiasts, being dubbed a “Leigh Magic Weekend” in some quarters.

Leigh Miners Rangers open proceedings with their game against Whitehaven at the LSV on Friday 5th March 2010 (7.30pm).

Miners issued a statement on their website which said: “Everyone at Miners would like to thank LSV Company for their assistance in getting the match staged, the first of three Challenge Cup games over the weekend as Leigh rugby will be showcased at its finest, and also to Whitehaven for their agreeing to travel on the Friday.

Leigh Miners Rangers open proceedings with their game against Whitehaven at the LSV on Friday March 5 at 7.30pm. Miners issued a statement on their website which said: “Everyone at Miners would like to thank LSV Company for their assistance in getting the match staged, the first of three Challenge Cup games over the weekend, as Leigh rugby will be showcased at its finest, and also to Whitehaven for their agreeing to travel on the Friday.”