Featherstone 12-38 Leigh: Centurions cruise to Super League Qualifiers victory

Match stats: Featherstone 12-38 Leigh

Featherstone tries: Griffin, Taulapapa
Goals: Hardman 2

Leigh tries: McNally 2, Drinkwater, Mortimer, Brown, Hood, Dawson
Goals: Drinkwater 5

Match report

Josh Drinkwater and Daniel Mortimer pulled the strings as Super League side Leigh defeated Championship Featherstone 38-12 to get their Qualifiers campaign off to a winning start.

Scrum-half Drinkwater scored a try and kicked five goals while Australian team-mate Mortimer touched down and assisted in two more of Centurions' seven tries, including a Gregg McNally double.

But it was a disappointing start in his first home match in charge of Rovers for coach and Leigh favourite John Duffy.

Fourth in the game's second tier, Featherstone's challenge faded after trailing only by 10 at half-time.

Leigh, 30-18 winners when these two sides met in last season's Middle 8s, made a perfect start.

Within six minutes the top-flight outfit led 12-0 largely due to the influence of playmaker Mortimer.

Signed from Cronulla Sharks just before the end of the regular season, the former NRL Grand Final winner posted the first try for his new club at the fourth time of asking.

In Leigh's next attack, Mortimer's grubber kick was fumbled behind their own line by two Rovers defenders and full-back McNally swooped on the loose ball. Drinkwater added the extras to both and Centurions were off to a flying start.

Rovers, handing a debut to Wigan forward Connor Farrell, were already in danger of being swamped.

Instead, they hit back after 18 minutes when much-travelled prop Darrell Griffin powered over despite the attentions of three defenders. Ian Hardman's goal trimmed Leigh's lead to 12-6.

The visitors responded positively and Mitch Brown dived over after 24 minutes, from McNally's long pass.

Duffy's response was the introduction of all four substitutes and for the rest of the half Rovers probed and hunted for more points.

But the only time they did crack the Leigh line, Luke Briscoe's effort was disallowed for a knock-on by video referee Phil Bentham.

Leigh lost centre Samisoni Langi to a match-ending injury and it was soon game over for their second-tier hosts.

Scotland international Liam Hood scooted over from dummy-half after 47 minutes and nine minutes later Mortimer's kick caused confusion behind the home line and Matty Dawson grabbed his 13th try of the campaign.

Leigh were not finished and Drinkwater darted over after a chip ahead rebounded back into his possession.

Rovers, who finished with 12 men after Richard Moore's sin-binning, pulled a try back through Misi Taulapapa. But McNally had the last word as Leigh completed a comfortable win.

Match reaction

Leigh coach Neil Jukes on Daniel Mortimer's performance: "There's a bit of toughness about him.

"When he comes off the field he looks like has had a scrap with five blokes. He is all over the place.

"But he is a good competitor. His short kicking game was good, he ran well and got some good service. In the main he executed what we spoke about.

"When your halves are decent then as a team you have got a chance. And both him and Josh Drinkwater were decent."

Jukes on his team's opening victory: "Getting off to a winning start in these 8's s really important.

"I know how tough it is to come to this place f you are not on song with your game.

"I was really pleased with start especially going uphill and we knew they were going to come all over us in the first 15-20 minutes.

"But we managed to dampen their fire with the crowd and some of their players' intensity levels dropped after we went try-try."

Featherstone boss John Duffy on his side's display: "We gave ourselves too much to do at the start of both halves with ill discipline and simple errors.

"In patches we looked really good but we didn't take the opportunities which you have got to do against any opposition, especially when you play Super League teams.

"You can't knock the effort but we need to be smarter and start the game better.

"We showed desire after the start we had to get back in the game band we looked comfortable going set for set. But once your error against these big teams you get punished.

"We did too much defending across the board and we conceded some soft tries."

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