Kurt Haggerty isn’t giving up on a great escape from relegation for Leigh this season, even though the Centurions know time is running out as they try to climb away from the Super League danger zone.
Sunday’s scheduled game at Hull was postponed due to Covid issues in the Black and Whites’ camp, and it is yet to be confirmed whether the match will be rearranged, with this season’s table again decided by win points percentage in case not all fixtures are fulfilled.
It’s a third top-flight stint in the summer era for Leigh, following their single-season stays in 2005 and 2017, and with them losing every game so far, the odds are against them lasting for more than a season for the first time.
Former Ireland international forward Haggerty, who had two spells as a Leigh player and is now interim coach after stepping up from assistant following John Duffy’s departure, has been in charge for five of Leigh’s 13 league matches,
Warrington are their next opponents at home on Thursday week, July 22.
Haggerty has had to deal with a string of injuries, the latest to halfback Ben Reynolds, who is possibly out for the remainder of the season due to a knee problem, and fullback Ryan Brierley, who faces a further three weeks on the sidelines after surgery on a torn eyelid.
But he has brought in Warrington’s former London Broncos prop Rob Butler on loan, as well as Huddersfield frontrower Jack Ashworth, with prop Nathaniel Peteru and hooker Nathan Peats heading the other way.
And he pointed out: “We are getting bodies returning and numbers are back up in training, and hopefully that will continue.
“We have eleven more matches scheduled, and hopefully we will avoid to kind of Covid postponements or cancellations which have affected other clubs, because the more matches we can play the better our chances.
“Wins can come in the unlikeliest of places at times, and they can provide the confidence and belief that we can actually go on and do something special.”
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