Stellar signing Blake Ferguson is looking forward to the latest instalment of the Leigh Centurions-Featherstone Rovers race for Championship supremacy.
But the former Australia and New South Wales winger is also wary of a potential backlash following his side’s 1985 Cup final win over Rovers when the pair go head-to-head again in front of the Premier Sports television cameras on Monday (June 13).
The Leigh Sports Village meeting is the third of a potential five this season between the duo who have both pushed the boat out financially, not least by bringing in Adrian Lam and Brian McDermott as their respective coaches, in their bid to seal a Super League berth.
They will clash at the Summer Bash at Headingley on Saturday, July 30 – and are favourites to make October’s Million Pound Game.
Featherstone, beaten by Toulouse in last year’s Million Pound Game, were 28-6 winners at the Millennium Stadium in the second of an eventual 27 rounds of second-tier action back in February.
But the Centurions, who have undertaken a major squad rebuild following last season’s relegation from the top flight, gained revenge with last month’s 30-16 1895 Cup Final victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
That marked former Cronulla Sharks, Canberra Raiders, Sydney Roosters and Parramatta Eels winger Ferguson’s second game for Leigh.
The 32-year-old, snapped up after he left Japanese rugby union team Green Rockets without playing a game for them following a drug-related arrest, scored a try, and has already racked up eight more in three league games, the most recent of which was the 36-0 home win over Halifax.
He’s enjoying himself on and off the pitch, explaining: “I’ve felt the love since coming over. The fans have been great and my team-mates are really understanding of me as a person.”
Lam is also assistant to Australia coach Mal Meninga, and Ferguson, who played seven times for the Kangaroos in 2016 and 2017, added: “I worked with him through the international squad and it’s been great to link up again.
“We have a great relationship, and there is mutual respect there, which is important to me.”
While Leigh have won their other 13 league games, Featherstone, who have made their own high-profile signings in former Toulouse pair Mark Kheirallah and Johnathon Ford, have yet to lose in the Championship, with the only point dropped being in the 20-20 draw at Batley in March.
McDermott’s men are coming off a 58-12 home victory over Bradford, and Ferguson continued: “They are a good side, and will come back at us hungry, because no one wants to lose any game, never mind a final. That’s not a nice feeling, and we have to be ready for them seeking some revenge.”
Leigh 21-man squad: Caleb Aekins, Keanan Brand, Nene Macdonald, Ben Reynolds, Joe Mellor, Adam Sidlow, Aaron Smith, Mark Ioane, Joe Wardle, Sam Stone, Tom Amone, Ata Hingano, Ed Chamberlain, Jacob Jones, John Asiata, Luis Roberts, Edwin Ipape, Krisnan Inu, Kai O’Donnell, Ben Nakubuwai, Blake Ferguson.
Featherstone 21-man squad: Luke Briscoe, Joey Leilua, Craig Hall, Gareth Gale, Craig Kopczak, Connor Jones, Brett Ferres, Jack Bussey, Matty Wildie, John Davies, Junior Moors, Ben Hellewell, Morgan Smith, Luke Cooper, Loui McConnell, Adam Cuthbertson, Ryley Jacks, Mark Kheirallah, Johnathon Ford, Tyla Hepi, Sam Eseh.
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