Martyn Ridyard: ‘I have fond memories of my time at Leigh’

Featherstone Rovers vice-captain Martyn Ridyard says he is hoping for a warm reception when he returns to the Leigh Sports Village on Sunday.

The 31-year-old spent eight years with Leigh Centurions, helping his hometown club gain promotion to Super League in 2016.

He spent time at Huddersfield Giants on loan last season, before joining the Rovers in the off-season.

And Ridyard is excited to return to Leigh for the first time as a visitor this weekend.

He said: “There will be plenty of banter flying around on the day but I hope to get a warm reception from the Leigh supporters.

“I am really looking forward to it. It should be a fantastic game for everyone to enjoy and, hopefully, we will return home with the two points.

“I have fond memories of my time at Leigh and know they will be looking to make amends after last week.”

Neil Jukes resigned as Leigh head coach earlier this week, with the Centurions having lost three out of their opening four games back in the Championship.

But Ridyard wants Featherstone to focus on what they’re doing rather than Leigh’s situation.

He added: “They will be hurting and things appear to be a little up in the air there at the moment, but we cannot afford to worry too much about them.

“We need to put in a strong 80-minute performance, which is something we haven’t yet done, and focus on ourselves.

“We have some quality players in our ranks and want nothing more than to win for our supporters, who will no doubt travel in numbers on Sunday.”