In the only Super League tie of the weekend, managerless Leigh Centurions travel over the Pennines, to take on Wakefield Trinity at the Mobile Rocket Stadium on Sunday, having parted ways with former head coach John Duffy earlier this week.
Having been awarded promotion up into Super League for this campaign in lieu of the absent Toronto Wolfpack, the Centurions have struggled thus far, and are yet to register a point to their name. Sitting bottom of the league table, they have lost all eight league fixtures as well as defeat to Huddersfield Giants in the third round of the Challenge Cup.
A trip to Wakefield for Leigh makes it two trips to Yorkshire on successive Sundays. Last time out – in what proved to be Duffy’s final game in charge – they fell to a 40-16 defeat at Hull Kingston Rovers, having been just six points behind at the break. Ryan Brierley returned to the side and scored a try, though that proved to be insignificant come the full-time whistle. The Centurions will be managed – at least for now – by interim head coach and former player Kurt Haggerty
Wakefield are in good form and have recovered from an equally poor start to the season to win their previous two games in a row including a 38-12 victory against Huddersfield last weekend. Those two wins see Trinity sat on four points overall and in 10th position.
With this fixture against the Centurions having been brought forward from round 13 to round 9 due to both sides being out of the Challenge Cup, Chris Chester’s men will have played at home in three consecutive weeks in front of their returning home support. This perhaps an important factor in a turnaround of the side’s fortunes on the pitch.
Squads
As highlighted in his pre-match press conference, Leigh’s interim boss Haggerty has inherited a squad that has been plagued with injuries throughout the season so far and this weekend is no different. The Centurions will be unable to call on either Matty Russell or Nathan Petru for their trip to Yorkshire, both are expected to return into contention in the coming weeks.
Usual goalkicker Ben Reynolds will also be absent as he serves a one-game suspension picked up following last weekend’s defeat to Hull KR. Prop Nathan Mason has returned to the squad following a finger injury picked up against neighbours Wigan Warriors last month. Coincidentally, Mason has been strongly linked with a move to the Warriors recently though nothing has been confirmed on that front.
Meanwhile, head coach Chester has made two changes to his Wakefield squad ahead of the clash which is seemingly tactical rather than due to injury. St Helens Loanee Josh Eaves, who has impressed of late, is one of those to miss out along with forward Matty Ashurst. They are replaced in the matchday squad by Tom Johnstone and youngster Innes Senior.
On loan from Huddersfield for a second season running, 21-year-old Senior is a twin to brother Louis – currently playing for Championship Oldham – and holds the niche record of being the first player born during or after the turn of the millennium to score a Super League try. He achieved that feat in 2018 but is yet to make his mark back at the John Smith’s stadium.
Trinity also has former Leigh man Liam Kay in their ranks and he has been named in the squad for this weekend’s clash. An Irish international, Kay made 78 appearances for the Centurions between 2014 and 2016 and scored an impressive 74 tries in that time.
Head-to-Head
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is Wakefield who holds the aces in the head-to-head record between these two clubs. Though then Championship outfit Leigh did record a 30-36 comeback victory at Trinity in the 2015 Challenge Cup, the Centurions have not prevailed against this weekend’s opponents in three attempts since.
Notably, Leigh came close later on that year in the Super League qualifiers but lost out 16-17 in a thrilling contest between the two at the Leigh Sports Village. Trinity were also pushed close on home turf in the Centurions’ 2017 Super League season but again it was the Yorkshire side who narrowly secured the two points with a 28-24 win.
However, all is not lost in the context of history for Leigh as they do have one win to their name in Super League against this weekend’s opponents. Way back in 2005, in a season where the Leythers picked up just four victories, one came against Trinity courtesy of a 40-18 triumph at the LSV.
This weekend will be the first time that the two sides have met since 2017.
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