T’Other Side: Leigh Centurions

T’Other Side: Leigh Centurions

LAST TIME OUT

Head Coach (caretaker): Keiron Purtill

When Kieron Purtill stepped up to the position of caretaker head coach following Neil Jukes’ resignation at the end of February Leigh had lost 3 out of 4 matches. They suffered two more losses after that but he clearly got the team together and they went on to win 11 matches on the trot. Keiron was finally made permanent head coach in late May, his first head coach permanent position having been generally in the role of assistant coach. Back in June 2008 he was assistant coach at Huddersfield Giants and stepped up to the position of joint caretaker coach for the rest of the season alongside Paul Anderson. But it was a different Paul Anderson to the one he is working with at Leigh. The one at Huddersfield was the former Bradford Prop (known as ‘Baloo’) and the other was a Leigh player. Incidentally, the person who left Huddersfield in 2008 leading to Keiron becoming acting head coach was Jon Sharp!

As a player Keiron was a halfback or centre and spent his entire short playing career with Leigh from 1998 to 2002.

Captain: Micky Higham

Micky Higham ‘retired’ at the end of last season but put his boots back on when Leigh were struggling earlier this year. He is now, once again, a highly influential member of the Leigh squad. A local lad he made his début for Leigh in 1999 going on to play for Saint Helens, Wigan and Warrington before his surprise return to Leigh in mid-season of 2015. He has also played for England A, England and Great Britain amassing the huge total of 523 career appearances - so far! When Harrison Hansen departed to Widnes at the end of July Higham was re-appointed as Leigh Captain.

At the back

Ricky Bailey is a Saint Helens youngster who is on a season long loan at Leigh. He made single appearances for Saints in 2015 and 2017. He played 3 games for Workington this year on dual reg. In 2017 Swinton signed French winger Ilias Bergal from Saint-Estève, Catalans Dragons reserve side. He joined Leigh at the end of the season but has spent time this year back at Swinton on loan and at Workington on dual reg. He returned to Leigh and with the hiatus in their ranks he has played in their last two games and scored 7 tries! Matty Dawson-Jones (formerly known as Matty Dawson) is a winger and has so far this season scored 9 tries. His career began with Huddersfield in 2012 and in 2014 he moved to Saint Helens. He was transferred to Leigh just before the Super 8s began in 2016. He has also played for Doncaster, on loan, in 2013 and for Rochdale, on dual reg, in 2014. halfback.

In the halves

23 year old, Drew Hutchison joined Leigh from Saint George Illawarra Dragons in the close season. His early promise was such that he was picked for the New South Wales U20s against Queensland and also played for the Junior Kangaroos. In 2014 he was named at scrum half in the Australian Nation Youth Competition Team of the Year. Ben Reynolds is a speedy halfback and the main Leigh goal kicker So far this year he has kicked 115 goals (out of 149) and scored Leigh’s only drop goal as well as scoring 7 tries. He began his career with Castleford in 2013 and moved to Leigh in 2015. He has had loan or dual reg spells with York, Doncaster and Dewsbury.

At Hooker

Liam Hood fills the hooker position together with Micky Higham. He is a Scottish international and has played at club level for Leeds, Dewsbury, Hunslet, Salford and Swinton before joining Leigh in March 2016.

In the pack

Kevin Larroyer is a Frenchman and played for Toulouse in 2011 and 2012 before joining Catalans. In 2014 he joined Hull Kingston Rovers and in the last year of his three years with them played 3 games for Newcastle Thunder on dual reg. Last year he joined Castleford and also had a loan spell with Bradford. He is a French international. Prop forward Nathan Mason is on loan from Huddersfield. He has been a Huddersfield player throughout his career which began in 2013 but has been out on loan with Oldham and Batley at various times. The Leigh pack have recently been bolstered by the loan signings of brothers Adam and Jordan Walne. Adam is a Huddersfield player who has spent most of his career with Salford but also played for Workington and Barrow. Jordan has also spent most of his time at Salford but has also played for Oldham, Workington, North Wales and Halifax.

Dual Registration and Loan Players

Leigh have a dual registration agreement with Workington Town and Ricky Bailey, Ilias Bergal, Jonah Cunningham, Jordan Dezaria, Nick Gregson, Kyle Lovett and Larne Patrick have played for Workington this season. The case of Jonah Cunningham (son of Keiron) and Ricky Bailey are unusual because they are actually at Leigh on loan from Saint Helens. It’s the first time we are aware of when a loan player has gone out on dual reg. Nathan Mason and Adam Walne are on loan from Huddersfield Giants, Will Dagger, Jordan Walne and Josh Johnson from Hull Kingston Rovers.

The Fev connection

There are no players in the Leigh Centurions squad who have ever played for Fev but the current Fev squad includes two former Leigh players, namely Richard Moore and Martyn Ridyard. Recently departed Gareth Hock also played for Leigh and there is also Jordan Lilley, a Leeds player who has played for both Leigh and Fev this year. He played for Leigh on loan and for Fev on dual reg. There is, of course a further connection because John Duffy played for Leigh between 2001 and 2005 and then returned there in 2010 for the last three years of his playing career. Jay Duffy, Fev’s assistant coach until very recently and John’s brother, made his professional début with Leigh in 2005.