BLACKPOOL PANTHERS 6, LEIGH CENTURIONS 36 by Mike Hulme: Centurions made an unconvincing start to their Northern Rails Cup campaign at Bloomfield Road on Friday night.
A scrappy and penalty-riddled clash only came to life in the final quarter when Leigh finally shook of a dogged resistance from the Panthers.
Leigh ran away with the game in the last 20 minutes; racing from a slender 14-6 lead to a flattering victory.
The Panthers, coached by ex-Leigh favourite Simon Knox, made life difficult with some dogged defence against a side struggling to put their attacking game together.
But despite their laboured effort, there were signs that Leigh will be a major force in this competition and the league campaign to follow.
Skipper Julien O'Neill was the inspiration behind much of Leigh's better attacking play which brought two tries apiece from Carl Forber and Adam Hughes. Dean Gaskell also showed up well with his counter-attacking play.
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