Rowley insists that Leigh had to go to war

Leigh coach Paul Rowley has defended his players, after a stormy and ill-tempered win over Featherstone Rovers at the Summer Bash in Blackpool at the weekend.

The game saw a red card and yellow card for Rovers, as well as three yellow cards for the Centurions.

Rowley insists that his players were only responding to things that were being done by their opponents.

 “We had to go to war because we were being bashed from pillar to post,” he said, according to the Leigh Reporter.

“We had to work hard but couldn’t get any momentum. I think the speed of the game was very slow and the ruck was disgraceful.

“Teams will continue to rough us up and then probably say it’s us roughing them up. But that’s a mystery to me.

“Featherstone had some interesting tactics. We still scored more than 30 points on a very tight pitch. To do that takes a lot of guts and we showed plenty of spirit and good discipline and I was proud of them.

“It’s common practice now for teams to try and slow us down which is frustrating.”

Rowley was pleased with the display of Mickey Higham, who had returned to his hometown club from Warrington in the days leading up to the game.

The Centurions coach is delighted to have two quality hookers in his squad, with Bob Beswick complementing Higham.

“They are both fantastic defenders – brave and tough,” Rowley added.

“We have got two dynamoes and it was great for Micky to get that try. The response the Leigh fans gave him was outstanding.”