League Express editor MARTYN SADLER is delighted to see Leigh Centurions at last break their duck with their 32-22 victory over Salford Red Devils on Sunday.
We all like to follow a winning team, but it’s never easy to be a supporter of a team that keeps losing every week.
So I have a lot of sympathy for those Leigh fans who have kept up their noisy support throughout this season, constantly backing their side and hoping that eventually that first victory would be on the horizon.
And at last they have something to cheer, with that long-awaited first victory of the season coming on Sunday afternoon against Salford Red Devils.
I have nothing against the Red Devils, but on this occasion it was good to see the Centurions’ success, even if it probably comes too late for the club to avoid relegation this season.
And it was a convincing victory against a side that I imagine won’t have pleased their coach Richard Marshall, given that the Centurions scored five penalty goals, which accounted for the ten-point margin between the two teams.
Discipline on the field is an absolute priority for any side, but it’s surprising how many players don’t seem to get the message. We’ve seen Wigan’s Willie Isa receive a four-match suspension this week for his role in last Friday’s match against St Helens. To his credit, Willie has issued a full apology for his actions.
And although none of Salford’s players have received suspensions, they certainly didn’t seem to get the message on Sunday about the futility of ill-discipline.
But congratulations are certainly due to the Leigh coach Kurt Haggerty.
In terms of avoiding relegation, it looks like too little, too late.
But who knows? With rumours that Marwan Koukash could be about to come on board to join his good friend Derek Beaumont, possibly as a director of the club, the future may be more promising than it probably looks right now.
And now that the Centurions have their first win on the board, others may follow, although a trip to St Helens on Thursday night, only four days after Sunday’s victory, is a cruel reward for all that effort.
Nonetheless, you can see from the photo on this page what Sunday’s victory means to the Leigh players.
You would have to be extremely hard hearted (or a Salford supporter) to begrudge them their joy in victory.
