Leigh have chance to go top of the Betfred Championship with Friday night Dewsbury Rams clash

Adrian Lam’s Leigh Centurions could go top of the Betfred Championship tonight, for at least 48 hours, if they’re successful in their home game against Dewsbury Rams. 

Relegated from Super League last season, Leigh have been almost flawless in the second division so far in 2022, though lost away at fellow promotion contenders Featherstone Rovers in round two and have not yet managed to claw their way back up to first.

Now, with Fev not in action until Sunday – against Sheffield Eagles – a win at home to strugglers Dewsbury Rams would see the Leythers take pole position. Boss Lam says at this stage of the season, his side are still focusing on getting the basics right rather than anything beyond that.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Lam said: “At the moment, it’s about a group of players here on the journey making sure that they tick the boxes along the way so that when the big games come, we deliver a brand of rugby that’s important to us and can get us a victory.

“This week is about bouncing back from last week [a Challenge Cup exit at Super League outfit Hull Kingston Rovers]so the focus is on us and our performance. The scoreboard and the like is the end result of the way that we want to go through each set of six.

“We’re not looking ahead too much, we’ll go through our process and the rest will take care of itself.”

In a stark contrast, the Centurions’ opponents – Dewsbury – are fighting for their lives at the other end of the league table. Heading into their trip to the Leigh Sports Village, Lee Greenwood’s side sit just a place – and a single point – above the bottom two.

If they’re unable to pull off a shock by taking points off Leigh, then the Rams could end the weekend in that relegation zone with both London Broncos and Workington Town – the two sides currently below them – both in action on Sunday.

The Yorkshire outfit weren’t involved in match action last weekend but did lose out narrowly at home to Newcastle Thunder in their last outing on March 20.

Dual Registration

Notably, both Leigh and Dewsbury have dual-registration agreements with clubs in the top tier of British rugby league, allowing players to get game time in the Championship in a mutually beneficial way.

For their Friday night away trip, the Rams have brought in versatile youngster Will Tate from Hull KR with Cole Oakley dropping out of the squad.

However, on the flip side of dual reg agreements, the Super League clubs generally have the deciding factor on whether their players are allowed to link up with those in the Championship.

James Bell – who was a Leyther last year – has returned to the club sporadically in recent weeks from St Helens as part of the two club’s agreement.

Leigh boss Lam said in his Tuesday presser that he was hopeful to have Bell again for the Dewsbury game, adding: “He’s been a part of this club for the last 12 months and is very highly respected here.

“The way that he played for us at Halifax [Panthers in Leigh’s last Championship outing] made a statement, and he certainly fits within this group, so we’d love to have him onboard this week, but we have to sit and wait.”

Despite Bell not being included in Saints’ own squad for their game at Leeds Rhinos, for reasons unknown, he’s also not been given the opportunity to be involved with the Leythers this time around.

However, Lam has been able to call upon his former employers seven miles down the road in Wigan Warriors who have loaned James McDonnell to their neighbours, and he goes into the Centurions squad for tonight’s match.

Kicking off at 8:00pm, live coverage from the Leigh Sports Village comes for Prost International from reporter Ben Olawumi. You can follow him on Twitter – @OlawumiJourno

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