Leigh 16 Huddersfield 38

By Matt Lawton
January 26 2003

Leigh's seemingly never ending quest for top flight rugby league was extended this evening after again failing to clear the final hurdle in front of a record NFP crowd at the Halton Stadium in Widnes.

Huddersfield went the way that both Dewsbury and Widnes went in the previous two years by defeating Leigh in a huge play off game and winning the NFP Grand Final, or in the case of Widnes qualifying for then winning the Grand Final following a victory over Leigh. This evening's result was more heartbreaking than the two put together after it had all started so well for Leigh when Simon Baldwin put Dale Cardoza over to put Leigh into an early lead and send the huge ranks of Leythers wild with delight. However, as is so often the case in big games for Leigh, it was not to be and Huddersfield came back almost immediately when Hefan O'Hare went in at the right wing corner for four points to add to a Steve McNamara penalty who then added the conversion to O'Hare's try to give them an 8-6 lead. Leigh then took the lead again when winger Oli Marns went in at the same corner as Cardoza to put Leigh into a 10-8 lead. David Whittle was then sin-binned along with a Giants player after the came to blows on the park before Neil Turley missed two penalties which could've stretched Leigh's lead until Huddersfield scored a converted try before the break to give them a 14-10 half time lead. Full time Huddersfield then came out for the second half much more full of fight and determination than it seemed in the first half and Leigh were shell shocked by the Yorkshire outfit. Leigh tried hard to get over but mistakes by the Centurions coupled with strong defence from the Fartowners meant Leigh faced an uphill struggle. As the came reached it's final quarter Huddersfield crossed the whitewash several times to give the Giants a rather flattering lead before substitute John Hamilton grabbed a consolation try for Leigh which was converted by Turley. The second half was marred by a huge brawl following a Huddersfield try with several different fights involving opposing players going on at the same time with Dave Whittle seemingly in the thick of it again and Paul Rowley had former team mate Steve McNamara in a 'head lock' before the two started throwing punches before the officials could finally split them up after they tried to end the other fights. Referee Karl Kirkpatrick seemed to follow most of the NFP referees this season by way of giving quite a few 50-50 decisions in favour of the Giants despite strong Leigh protests although the video referee did rightly disallow a try when former Leigh second rower Heath Cruickshank obstructed a Leigh player who was attempting to tackle Hefan O'Hare. At the end of the game, the Leigh supporters said farewell to a few stars who are definitely leaving and one or two who look like they are on their way out of Hilton Park which will spell the break up of this side although hopefully not too much and we will recover and try again next year. Bobby Goulding and Vila Matautia will be retiring, it seems Andy Isherwood is on his way to Super League Widnes Vikings and Adam Bristow and Neil Turley may follow him into Super League. Coach Paul Terzis is also on his way out after his failure to guide Leigh into Super League at the third attempt sealed his departure as coach after it was confirmed his contract wouldn't be renewed unless Leigh were promoted. The guessing games now start for who the next coach may be. Email me at matty_leyther@yahoo.co.uk or cherryandwhiteonline@yahoo.co.uk with who you would like to take over. Man of the Match - Well the official M.O.M. was Huddersfield's Geordie scrum half Chris Thorman although I wouldn't say he did particularly much to impress me. For Huddersfield Steve McNamara's goal kicking gave them a platform to work on once again and Stanley Gene was his usual impressive self although he didn't do as much damage as in previous encounters. For Leigh, Oli Marns, Willie Swann, Bobby Goulding, Dave Bradbury, Paul Rowley and Andy Isherwood all had strong games but my man of the match goes to centre Dale Cardoza who was awesome both in attack and defence. A special award should really be given to the massed ranks of Centurions supporters who made the short journey to Widnes who never stopped singing and supporting their team despite the game already seemingly lost. Once again the "Red Army" gave their heroes a rousing ovation at the end despite another disappointing defeat to Huddersfield.