Leigh 12 Whiteheaven 18 Scrum-half John Duffy returned to his old stomping ground to condemn the Centurions to a second successive National League One defeat.

Duffy set up three of Whitehaven's four tries as the Cumbrians ground out a victory after falling 12-4 behind.

If Duffy was the architect in Haven's victory, the backbone of their success was down to the quality of their second half defence.

After Leigh lost influential scrum-half Aaron Heremaia with an ankle injury just before half-time, they lost control of the game.

After the break them were never able to apply the same dominance as they had enjoyed in the first half when tries from Chris Hill and Dave Alstead gave them a platform for victory.

Leigh were ahead inside seven minutes when Heremaia's short ball sent Hill thundering through to the posts for a try goaled by Damian Couturier.

Although Duffy's kick created a try for another Hilton Park old boy in Steve Maden, Leigh maintained the upper hand and were quickly back in front through Alstead's try and another Couturier conversion.

When Carl Rudd sliced through a static defence for an another Whitehaven six-pointer, Leigh found themselves only two points up at half time.

After the break, and with Heremaia off injured, Leigh completely lost their way in the second half. Whitehaven upped the tempo, tackled Leigh out of the game and went on to grind out a victory.