It was fifth v second when Batley Bulldogs welcomed Leigh Centurions to slope at The Foxes Biscuits Stadium as round 11 of the Betfred Championship concluded in front of the Premier Sports cameras.

The Bulldogs entered the match unbeaten in their last five games, having drawn one game when they became the only team in the league to take a point off Featherstone back in March.

Leigh's only loss in the  past six weeks was to Super League club Hull KR in the sixth round of the Challenge Cup.

Leigh kicked off down the hill while the hosts had first use of the ball - faced with the challenge of carring it 100m up the field and up nine feet in altitude in the first half.

The Bulldogs were the first to make a mistake though, when Johnny Campbell knocked on trying to collect a high kick in the corner.

Featherstone Rovers awaited the winners of the second AB Sundecks 1895 Cup game between the Sheffield Eagles and Leigh Centurions although the bookies, pundits, and most supporters believed that there could only be one winner.

The Eagles were given an almost unprecedented thirty-four-point start on the handicap coupon as they looked to overcome a six-place difference in the league table and pull off a miracle result and get themselves a trip to London.

But Mark Aston loves to be an underdog, and Adrian Lam wouldn´t take the challenge lightly.

Bradford welcomed Leigh to the Tetleys Stadium at Odsal for the final Betfred Challenge Cup fifth round tie, with a visit to Hull Kingston Rovers in the sixth round the reward for the winners.

Leigh came out on top and won through to the fifth round of the Betfred Challenge Cup in the Monday night clash between two of the Championship's more fancied sides.

The only Sunday afternoon Championship fixture to survive the storms sweeping across the United Kingdom was the game at the LNER where two sides with two wins out of three, the York City Knights and the Leigh Centurions, clashed with an eye on taking second spot in the league.

The weather for those travelling from Leigh was atrocious as the tail end of Storm Eunice passed through and Storm Franklin breezed in, and it would be down to who would play the conditions the best as the pitch was deemed to be fit for the game to go ahead.

Round 3 of the Betfred Championship concluded with Leigh Centurions, who lost to Featherstone on TV last week, hosting a Bradford Bulls outfit looking to bounce back after losing to Sheffield.

A fixture between Featherstone Rovers and Leigh Centurions would be the game of the round on any given weekend of Betfred Championship rugby and with both clubs hopeful and optimistic of ending the season by being promoted to Super League for 2023 there was little wonder that Premier Sports selected it for their second edition of Monday night football.

Both sides secured a win in the competitions opening round last weekend, and knew that they needed a win to keep level with the three unbeaten sides at the top of the table; Widnes, Batley and Barrow.

It was two coaches with masses of Super League experience and pedigree as Brian McDermott came up against Adrian Lam in an early season crunch game.

Still without a win in Super League 2021 the Leigh Centurions travelled to the DW Stadium to take on a Wigan Warriors side who are also not having everything their own way after a great start to the year has recently headed downhill.

John Bateman was back for the home side, and would start off the bench for a Wigan side who could not improve their league position, but for whom a victory would give them some breathing space in fourth.

A first win for Leigh would give them a glimmer of hope of avoiding the drop, out of Super League, in a couple of months’ time but without several first teamers, and the bookies giving them a twenty-two point start on the coupon, it seemed unlikely.

After not being able to buy a win in the opening weeks of the 2021 Super League season Wakefield Trinity, under the coaching of Chris Chester, seem to have turned a corner and recorded good wins in their last two outings.

Leigh Centurions, on the other hand, remain pointless in the 2021 season after being promoted into the spot vacated when the Toronto Wolfpack were thrown out of the competition and came into today’s game knowing that this was one game in their fixture list that they would have had as a ‘must win’ coming into the season.

Assistant coach Kurt Heggarty has stepped into the role of head coach at the Centurions after they cut short the tenure of John Duffy earlier in the week in the hope of turning around their fortunes.

Two sides, who were disappointed in the result of their opening fixtures, were first up in the Totally Wicked Stadium Mose Masoe double header as the Warrington Wolves took on the new boys, Leigh Centurions, with a crucial two points up for grabs and both teams looking to stay in touch with the top of the table.

The Centurions had Ben Reynolds back in their side after he returned from Toulouse Olympique without playing a game for his new side.

A transfer fee was involved but the scrum half adds a special dimension to the Leigh line-up.

Warrington were big favourites for the win, Leigh getting a sixteen-point start on the coupon, but the Wolves wouldn’t be taking anything for granted.

It has been confirmed that the Leigh Centurions will replace the Toronto Wolfpack for the Superleague 2021 season after they were determined to have entered the most complete and appealing bid of the six sides who were hoping to play in the topflight next season.

Without playing a ball, or making a tackle, Leigh were chosen ahead of Bradford Bulls, Featherstone Rovers, London Broncos, Toulouse Olympique and York City Knights, much to the delight of their fans, players and administrators.

Coach John Duffy now has a small window during which to strengthen his side ahead of the start of the competition on the 11^th March 2021, a time when hopefully there will be some spectators allowed inside stadia.

It was knock-out football as the Betfred Championship Play-Offs arrived at Leigh Sports Village, where fifth placed Featherstone Rovers met the Leigh Centurions for the priviledge of a semi-final encounter against the York City Knight next weekend.

Both sides were without some key players as they went into a nerve-wracking sudden death battle.

The last time that they met was in West Yorkshire when Rovers secured a 24-20 win but when Rovers visited the LSV in February it was the home side who took the win with a 29-20 victory.

Leigh were big favourites with the bookies but this was knockout football, anything could happen.

The Bradford Bulls travelled to the Leigh Sports Village to take in a Centurions side seeking to capitalise on Toulouse's shock defeat at the hands of Swinton yesterday and close the gap on second spot to just two points.

The Bulls also had it all to play for and knew that a win would get them level on league points with their opponents, but with a chasm between their points differences it would require a massive victory to take their place on the ladder.

John Kear had Crossley and Garside back in his side with Farrell, Webster and Roche missing out.

John Duffy’s Leigh were looking for their third consecutive win and a seventh victory in their last eight as one of the form sides in the division.

The scene was set for a belter of a game.

The Betfred Super League keeps its South of France foothold in Perpignan after the Catalan Dragons ran out 26-10 winners over Leigh in the Million Pound Game at Leigh Sports Village this afternoon.



But that result stayed in doubt until well into the second half as, for the second year running, two SL teams battled it out to decide which one would be relegated to make way for Hull KR, whose return to the top flight was guaranteed when they ensured a top three place in the middle eights.

It was bottom against second bottom as the Leigh Centurions made the short trip down the M62 to Widnes to take on the Vikings.

Both sides are desperate for the win to keep alive any hopes of a top eight finish and avoiding the dreaded middle eights competition.



A victory for Leigh would lift them above the Warrington Wolves and into tenth place, four points behind eighth placed Wigan Warriors but defeat to Widnes would see them drop below the Viking to the bottom of the table.



Although this was the weekend’s basement fixture there was enough at stake to make it a mouthwatering prospect.

Leigh Centurions hadn’t beaten tonight’s Super League ‘State of Mind’ opponents Wigan Warriors for thirty-three years.



A win would lift the hosts above the Widnes Vikings and off the bottom of the league, but the victory was also crucial for Wigan who were in danger of slipping out of touch with the all-important top four and out of the play-off place that their fans demand.



Both sides were struggling with injuries and were without many first choice first teamers.

Leigh were notably without Hock and Higham, and Wigan without the suspended Farrell and injured skipper O’Loughlin amongst many others.

It was never anything but a clear Leigh victory on offer in a game that was all about confidence – or the lack of it – when the Centurions entertained Warrington at Leigh Sports Village.



The hosts ran out 22-8 victors, and climbed to fourth in the table, with victory in the opening match of Super League round 5 against a Wolves team clearly lacking belief despite featuring in both last season’s finals and convincingly beating Brisbane Broncos in the World Club Series just weeks ago.

The Ladbrokes Challenge Cup got underway with an all National Conference League clash between Leigh Miners Rangers and Wigan St Patricks at the Twist Lane ground.

The game had been chosen as the focus game of the round and would be shown live by the BBC as part of their enhanced coverage of the 2017 competition.



One of sixteen first round fixtures, the winners would be embarking on a gruelling sequence of games which could see them pitted against semi-pro and then professional sides as they progressed through the competition.

With both the Rhinos and the Centurions already guaranteed Super League places for next season all that was to play for at Headingley was the pride of finishing at the top of the Super 8s Qualifiers table.



As an added incentive, the Bev Risman Trophy would be competed for for the first time in honour of the Leeds and Leigh legend.



Leigh brought a five month long unbeaten record to Headingley and we're taking on a Rhinos side who lost at Huddersfield last weekend and who were without a handful of regular first-teamers including McGuire, Burrow, and Garbutt.

It was a crucial match for both sides as Leigh Centurions looked to maintain the 100% Qualifiers record as they visited the Lightstream Stadium to take on Hull KR who themselves desperately needed the win to get them into the automatic Super League positions going into the last three games.



It was third against fourth, Super League against Championship, and the most exciting looking Qualifiers game of the weekend.



A big seventh-five points win would put Leigh top while a thirty-eight point win for KR would see them go second ahead of Huddersfield Giants.