Jukes relieved to pick up first win

Leigh head coach Neil Jukes says he is relieved to have claimed a first victory not long after the start of the season.

The Centurions beat Saints for the first time in over 23 years, securing a 24-16 victory at the Leigh Sports Village.

“It is a massive confidence booster,” Jukes said.

“It probably hit home last week that we weren’t a million miles off and so it is incredible that we’ve beaten a top four team tonight.”

The result was all the more satisfying for Leigh head coach Jukes after how close they came the previous week against Leeds.

“We were so close last week so I am pleased for the lads,” he said.

“We got off to another great start and I thought we could’ve posted more points in that first half.”

Although Jukes wasn’t happy with his side’s discipline, he did commend the defensive efforts and thought that was an area which improved significantly since last week.

“The amount of times we got under bodies was incredible,” he said.

“I thought we were a bit scratchy towards the end of the second half but hung in there through our defence.

“Last week we had a six-minute blip and this time we smartened a few things up.”