
Leeds Rhinos prop Jamie Peacock has praised Leigh Centurions following their thrilling Challenge Cup encounter last week.
The Championship outfit led for much of the first half and were in contention until the last quarter, when two quick tries and a field-goal gave the home side a flattering 25-12 victory.
“It was a tough Cup tie,” Peacock told the Yorkshire Post.
“It just showed what a good side Leigh are and how teams can rise to the occasion.
“There’s a lot on the line in these one-off games and I thought Leigh played really well and fully played their part in what would have been a good Cup tie to watch for the neutral.
“I thought they’d be good. They scored some good tries. Their second try was a good, off-the-cuff try and once they got out in front their tails were always going to get up.
“We were a bit blase with the ball early on, but we got into our groove in the second half and we took the juice out of them.
“That’s why we got a couple of tries at the end, but they should be really proud of their efforts as a team.
“If you put those players in a full-time environment they would go well in Super League. They are a good side, they play good football and fair play to them. They deserve a lot of respect for what they did.”
Leigh are odds-on to be one of four sides next year in the hunt for promotion to Super League, and Peacock thinks they will have a great chance of upsetting top-tier opposition.
“When you are in a rut and you are low on confidence, you are not as good a player. When you are winning every week, as Leigh have shown, it breeds confidence.
“It is going to be interesting when the top-four who are winning games meet the bottom-four, who are losing.
“We are going to see what momentum means in Rugby League. If they keep that team together Leigh have every chance of getting up and getting into Super League.”