NORMALLY, scoring 30 points away to Leigh Centurions would be enough to secure victory. Indeed, the last four Betfred Championship teams to do just that – Toulouse Olympique, Toronto Wolfpack, Halifax and Batley Bulldogs, all in 2018 – emerged as winners.
Until Barrow Raiders showed up at the Leigh Sports Village yesterday, no visiting team had scored more than 20 on the Centurions' home turf this season either. So on that basis alone the Raiders are in somewhat exalted company.
There are, however, two sides to every story and the other side to this one is Leigh racked up 46 points of their own to secure a 46-30 win, leaving Paul Crarey's side still searching for that elusive second victory of the campaign.
For while the visitors played some of the most scintillating rugby they have at any point during the 2019 season when they had the ball in hand, they were made to pay for conceding 16 penalties.
Leigh were guilty of giving away 11 infringements of their own too, although most of those from both teams were for technical offences around the ruck and for dissent.
To such an extent that three players were sin-binned – Jarrad Stack for Barrow in the first half, and after the break when Stefen Marsh and Joe Cator were both shown yellow cards for Leigh following Tee Ritson being held down too long after a dangerous break.
Even when down to 11 though, the Centurions maintained a capacity to strike quickly, with dual-registered St Helens centre Adam Swift grabbing one of his two tries during that period.
Disciplinary issues aside, the key to the game was which side could dictate the pace and for Barrow, it was about keeping it slow. Leigh, on the other hand, wanted to wear them down with a relentless game-pace and intensity.
But while Gregg McNally's 100th try for the club and Sam Brooks rumbling over sandwiched a Jamie Dallimore penalty, they did not really cut loose until Stack's sin-binning gave them a numerical advantage.
Two lightning attacks saw the defence stretched and Iain Thornley benefit both times, only for Barrow to show what they could do with Ritson breaking to set up Dan Toal, followed by the full-back finishing off a break by Ryan Johnston barely one minute into the second half.
Swift's double, Josh Woods scoring and Thornley finishing for his hat-trick killed Barrow's resistance in the second half as ill-discipline began to bite.
Yet the way the Raiders' other tries came was encouraging; scrum-half Johnston picking out Stack to power through, Deon Cross intercepting and going 90-plus metres, and Glenn Riley bursting over late on.
Those efforts were appreciated by the travelling Barrow fans too, who applauded the team off to send them into a weekend off with plenty to take forward.
Leigh Centurions: Gregg McNally; Jonny Pownall, Adam Swift, Iain Thornley, Stefan Marsh; Martyn Ridyard, Josh Woods; Luke Douglas, Micky Higham, Sam Brooks, Toby Adamson, Nick Gregson, Luke Adamson. Interchange: Liam Hood, Joe Cator, Tom Spencer, Andy Thornley.
Barrow Raiders: Tee Ritson; Deon Cross, Jarrad Stack, Jake Spedding, Tom Loxam; Jamie Dallimore, Ryan Johnston; Josh Johnson, Wartovo Puara Jr, Alec Susino, Bradd Crellin, Willie Minoga, Lewis Charnock. Interchange: Nathan Mossop, Glenn Riley, Tom Walker, Dan Toal.
Referee: Ben Thaler.
Sin-bin: Leigh Centurions – Joe Cator, Stefan Marsh (46); Barrow Raiders – Jarrad Stack (28).
Attendance: 3,036.
Playback: 12 – McNally try (4-0); 19 – Dallimore pen (4-2); 24 – Brooks try, Ridyard conv (10-2); 30 – Thornley try (16-2); 33 – Thornley try, Ridyard conv (22-2); 38 – Toal try, Dallimore conv (22-8); 41 – Ritson try, Dallimore conv (22-14); 51 – Swift try, Ridyard conv (28-14); 57 – Stack try (28-18); 61 – Woods try, Ridyard conv (34-18); 66 – Swift try, Ridyard conv (40-18); 71 – Thornley try, Ridyard conv (46-18); 75 – Cross try, Charnock conv (46-24); 79 – Riley try, Charnock conv (46-30).
Raiders star man: Tee Ritson.
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