Cory Paterson re-joins Leigh

Cory Paterson has come out of retirement to re-join former club Leigh.

Paterson, 32, hung up his boots after a season with Toronto Wolfpack, and has recently been working on the coaching staff at Widnes.

He becomes the latest player to return to Leigh, who he left after the 2017 Million Pound Game.

Coach John Duffy said: “Cory’s situation popped up over the last few days after a conversation with Derek. I met Cory and he demonstrated his passion to play again for Leigh Centurions. He still lives in Leigh, all his neighbours talk about Leigh and as his last game was that Million Pound Game he doesn’t want his career with the club to end on a sour note.

“He has got the opportunity to play in a team where he knows a lot of the personnel and he’ll enjoy our environment.

“Cory is a very good player. He’s highly skilled and very professional and he will add value to our group.”

The former Newcastle Knights, North Queensland, Wests, Hull KR and Salford forward was part of the Leigh side that won promotion from the Championship in 2017.

He scored 22 tries in 41 games in his two seasons with Leigh, and is seven shy of 200 career games.

Paterson said: “It’s been a crazy few days. Everyone is coming back to Leigh and I thought I’d join the Gang.

“Since retiring from Toronto I’ve been doing some coaching and some real world stuff but the other day I caught up with Derek for a chat and a coffee. He asked me if I missed playing. I said that living in Leigh I’d love to come back if I could play for Leigh.

“I’ve signed to the end of the season and if I can contribute to the team and become a valuable member we’ll see what happens.”