Leigh 6-44 Huddersfield: Giants’ recent resurgence continues
Huddersfield recorded their third successive Super League win to keep Leigh entrenched at the foot of the table.
The Giants conceded the first points of the match but went on to score seven tries without reply to run out resounding 44-6 winners in front of a crowd of 2,008 at the Leigh Sports Village.
As in most of their matches in their first season back in the top flight, the Centurions showed plenty of fight and were in the contest for long periods but the cold hard fact is they have now lost all eight matches in both competitions.
They are also now the only team in Super League without a point following Wakefield’s 28-12 win over Hull KR, although they had the encouragement of a promising debut from 27-year-old Australian full-back Brendan Elliot, who produced an accomplished display following a nine-month injury lay-off.
Huddersfield posed an early threat through the pace of left winger Darnell McIntosh but Elliot went close to scoring on his debut before playing a key role in the opening try by winger Lewis Tierney, his first for the club.
The visitors drew level in the 28th minute when stand-off Jack Cogger popped the ball out of a tackle near the Leigh line for centre Ricky Leutele to score his first try since the opening game in March.
Captain Aiden Sezer converted the try and kicked two penalties in the last three minutes of the first half to give his side a 10-6 interval lead, Ben Reynolds having earlier kicked a penalty for the home side.
The Centurions, led by Tyrone McCarthy in the absence of injured skipper Liam Hood, endured disruption after losing prop Nathan Peteru and winger Matty Russell to injuries in the early stages of the second half as Huddersfield began to tighten their grip on the game.
Right winger Jermaine McGillvary had a score disallowed for offside before second rower Kenny Edwards ran the ball on the last tackle and took a return pass from Leutele to go over for his side’s second try.
Sezer’s fourth goal from as many attempts made it 16-6 and there was no way back for Leigh when the influential skipper broke through and provided a long pass for centre Jake Wardle to add another try on the hour.
The Centurions’ problems worsened when loose forward James Bell was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on hooker Adam O’Brien, who showed no ill-effects from the heavy challenge when burrowing his way over for his side’s fourth try.
Ever-dangerous full-back Lee Gaskell then carved out a try for McGillvary, who climbed above Leon Pryce into seventh place in Super League’s list of all-time leading scorers with 174 touchdowns.
As Leigh tired, the Giants cut loose with McIntosh collecting Sezer’s pinpoint kick to get Leutele over for his second try and prop Michael Lawrence following up McGillvary’s speculative kick to score their seventh try in injury time.
Sezer kicked his eighth goal from nine attempts to wrap up an impressive victory.
Leigh: Elliot, Russell, Thornley, Gelling, Tierney, Ellis, Reynolds, Bell, Thompson, Hellewell, Sidlow, Peats, Ioane. Subs: Sa’u, Wildie, Peteru, McCarthy.
Tries: Tierney. Goals: Reynolds.
Huddersfield: Gaskell, McGillvary, Wardle, Leutele, McIntosh, Sezer, Cogger, Lawrence, Cunningham, Greenwood, Edwards, Jones, Yates. Subs: O’Brien, Trout, English, McQueen.
Tries: Leutele 2, Edwards, Wardle, O’Brien, McGillvary, Lawrence. Goals: Sezer 8
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