Castleford Tigers 52 Leigh Centurions 16, John Duffy reaction

A thumping 52-16 defeat to Castleford Tigers was their third in as many games since returning to the top flight while they also exited the Challenge Cup at the first hurdle at the hands of Huddersfield Giants last week.

It was always going to be a tough ask against a Castleford side that had won all of their games so far in 2021, and so it proved.

> Castleford 52 Leigh 16 - the story of a chastening evening for Centurions

Centurions head coach Duffy said his side had to take the loss “on the chin” but said they could not use their late admission to Super League as an excuse for their struggles.

Jordan Thompson is tackled by Jordan Turner. Picture by SWPix.com

“It was another disappointing night for us,” Duffy said.

“We copped a few injuries early on as well – it ended up being similar to the earlier rounds when we were shuffling people out of position.

“We’ve got to take it on the chin. We’ve got to stick together as a group to get out of this fight that we’re in.

“We knew what was happening. We made the bid for Super League and we knew what was going to come if we got in.

“That’s what we’re dealing with now. There’s no excuses from us.”

Leigh’s struggles were punctuated by a first half in which they conceded six tries, with Daryl Powell’s Tigers turning round with a 34-0 lead.

Duffy’s side did rebound slightly after the break to get themselves on the board, with Jordan Thompson, Ben Reynolds and Ryan Brierley crossing.

Ryan Brierley scores a late try. Picture by SWPix.com

However, they conceded two more tries while their hosts were down to 12 men following Jesse Sene-Lefao’s sin-binning for a late hit on Tyrone McCarthy.

So does Duffy believe his side have just faced potential Super League title contenders?

“Definitely. I said that before the game,” he said.

“They are a classy, well-coached outfit and I think they will go out with a bang this year for Daryl.”

Ryan Brierley cannot stop Liam Watts from scoring. Picture by SWPix.com