Leigh look to end winless run but Rhinos can’t afford slip-up against Super League’s bottom club

Winless Leigh Centurions face play-off chasing Leeds Rhinos on Friday evening with the hosts still looking for their first points of the campaign, having now lost 15 games Super League on the bounce.

Unsurprisingly, having failed to register a victory to date, the Leythers sit bottom of the league table and unless it is scrapped, relegation now looks an absolute certainty.

They did however come close last time out, not for the first time this season but probably the one which will hurt the most, losing at home to Hull Kingston Rovers by a scoreline of 28-34. Leigh came from behind to lead with just 13 minutes remaining, but Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Ryan Hall inspired KR to a ‘smash and grab’ victory, meaning that Leigh’s torrid winless streak goes on.

Notably, that streak doesn’t even end if you take away this season as in their last outing before COVID struck, the Centurions lost out away from home in the Challenge Cup. Coincidentally, that was also against KR, this time away from home but again conceding a try in the closing stages to succumb to a 22-19 defeat. Leigh’s last success in any competitive game a 34-20 win at the Leigh Sports Village over Halifax Panthers on March 8, 2020.

This week’s opponents – Leeds – are on a poor run of their own, albeit nowhere near as long. Richard Agar’s Rhinos have lost back-to-back games against Warrington Wolves and most recently Castleford Tigers which have somewhat derailed a play-off push.

Having endured a tough start to the season, Leeds had recovered well and looked to be going strong sitting just in that top six, but have now slipped outside of the play-off spots and can ill-afford any more slip ups if they are to be successful in their quest come the end of the regular season.

Some teams in and around Agar’s side have as many as four games in hand over them, and while the win percentages of different teams will come into factor if required, the Rhinos now simply just have to keep winning their own games.

A defeat at the LSV against Super League’s bottom club on Friday night is unthinkable for Leeds, but stranger things have happened and the Centurions have shown at different points of this campaign just how tricky they can make life for opponents.

Team News

Leigh will still be without loan pair Jack Ashworth and Rob Butler who remain suspended having been involved in a brawl away at Wigan Warriors in the game before last. Ashworth was shown a red card at the time and both were later penalised further by the review panel.

New Centurions signing Jack Logan is set to feature again thiugh along with St Helens’ loanees Josh Eaves and Matty Foster. Eaves provided a crucial assist for what had looked to be Adam Sidlow’s winning try against KR in the last outing.

Meanwhile, Luke Gale returns for the visitors following the conclusion of his one-match ban for ‘contact with a match official’ in the defeat to Warrington. He missed the loss against former employers Castleford at Emerald Headingley stadium, but now could play alongside Rob Lui for the first time this season after the stand-off made his own return from injury for the Rhinos in that game against the Tigers.

Liam Sutcliffe won’t be featuring for the Rhinos though, as he has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury. 

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