Top Guns back on top!

THE Centurions are back on familiar territory - sitting pretty at the top of the Northern Ford Premiership.

Normal service was resumed after opening the season with a couple of indifferent efforts that didn't satisfy the players or the fans. But those fortunate enough to see the young Hawks carved up saw enough evidence to suggest that this newly-assembled squad has the capability to go all the way.

The Centurions are level-headed and experienced enough to know that far strainer challenges await them in the months that lie ahead but will take great satisfaction from the way their game is starting to come together.

In a chilling message to the rest of the division, head coach Paul Terzis declared that there is still room for improvement even from a side that had just scored 13 tries and kept the opposition pointless until the final nine minutes.

"In the first half we showed what we are all about, the quality of some of our tries was magnificent and the funny thing is there's still a lot of improvement left in us. Our basic philosophy at the moment is to try and step up our performances week by week."

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eigh found the groove and the tempo right from the off and Hunslet must had known it was going to be a long, hard day at the office from the moment they conceded the first try inside 90 seconds.

Simon Baldwin dictated that Leigh took the game by the scruff of the neck with an unstoppable opening. He a hat-trick inside the first 17 minutes, added a fourth after half time and generally caused panic and mayhem every time he thundered down the left channel. It was an astonishing effort given the second-rower was suffering from a heavy cold. He didn't give the Hawks a sniff of a chance!

Yet it was the half-back combination of Simon Svabic and teenager Lee Sanderson that was pivotal to Leigh's landslide victory.

Now untroubled by a knee injury that restricted him for half of last season, stand-off Svabic was more like his old self. With Sanderson supplying good early ball, Svabic was able to show his full range of passing and get his outside backs running in the most damaging places.

And with his field kicking game also up to scratch, Leigh looked a team with for more options than their two previous games.

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he quality of possession gave centres Jon Roper and Mark McCulley the chance to show what they can do. Roper, powerful and penetrating, picked up a couple of four-pointers. McCulley also picked a try on his full debut but it was his broken field running that pointed to the ex-St Helens youngster having a big part to play at Hilton Park.

"Young Sanderson put his hand up and showed that he has tremendous potential," said Terzis. "He and Svabic seem to have quickly struck up an understanding and the team as a whole benefited from that.

"Mark McCulley was brought to this club for a reason. He's got great vision and outstanding footwork and has a great fend. It's a pity he got injured towards the end but the Leigh fans are going to see a lot more of this young guy."

Leigh's almost telepathic understanding brought them a stack of tries and at times they made it look embarrassingly easy. They even had the luxury of letting Rowley and Roper sit out the entire second half.

Having pushed fancied Rochdale right to the limit just seven days previous, Hunslet were punch-drunk by the ferocity and speed of Leigh's opening. They were out of the blocks quicker by Linford Christie and had six points on the board almost before the echo of referee Karl Kirkpatrick's starting whistle had died away. Stretching the Hawks right and then left, a wide gap opened up and Sanderson put Baldwin over.

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ll four of Leigh's first tries came in identical positions as the Hawks right-hand defence took flight. Adam Bristow, Neil Turley and Baldwin smuggled passes away in heavy traffic with Baldwin's final ball repaying the compliment for Sanderson.

Leigh were well up with the clock, the third try and Baldwin's second after a break from Roper, made it 16-0 in just 14 minutes. They continued to score at better than a point a minute as Roper collected Svabic's crossfield bomb and laid Baldwin's hat-trick score on a plate. Turley, who had thumped over two conversions from wide out for the first two tries, was fractionally off target with efforts three and four but even at that early stage Leigh were destined for a huge score.

Three more tries came in the second quarter. Paul Rowley's scamper out of dummy half gave Turley an inviting chance, Leigh's try predator finishing without a finger laid on him from 40 metres.

Hunslet barely had time to draw breath before they were hit again by a trademark Leigh play. Clearly enjoying himself, Svabic sliced through the defence on an angled run but was his overhead dunk back inside to Baldwin that did the real damage. The Hawks defence melted away as Baldwin gave Roper the first of his two.

Two minutes later the Baldwin/Rowley combination got Roper into open pasture, the centre showing terrific strength to crash through the last two tacklers to go over at the corner to make it 34-0.

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here was no indication that Leigh had any intention of taking their foot off the gas by increasing their within two minutes of the restart. Svabic's aerial attack caused blind panic, McCulley profiting from a loose ball to swoop for a debut try.

Svabic got the try he deserved when some quick footwork got him through and under the posts from 10 metres out. Fittingly it was Baldwin who took Leigh to the half century, stretching over after skittling four defenders on another almighty charge.

When impressive sub Rob Ball collected the first of his couple and Turley landed his sixth goal, Leigh were 56-0 up with 26 minutes still to play.

Even with Turley sin-binned after a minor scuffle with Stuart Turton, Leigh still managed two more tries before they decided enough was enough. Ball pounced for his second in just nine minutes with Liam Bretherton scooting straight down the middle for Leigh's 13th from Ball's good work. Sanderson added both goals.

Hunslet had barely threatened all afternoon yet managed to come up with two scores in the final six minutes. Winger Bryn Powell was the beneficiary both times after Nicky Dobson and Chris Ross had made the openings. Ross added both conversions.

Scorers - Leigh: Tries - Baldwin (4), Roper (2), Ball (2), Turley, Sanderson, McCulley, Svabic, Bretherton. Gls - Turley 6 from 11; Sanderson 2 from 2.

Hunslet: Tries - Powell (2). Gls - Ross 2 from 2.

LEIGH: Turley; Andrews, McCulley, Roper, Bretherton; Svabic, Sanderson; Norman, Rowley, Bradbury, Baldwin, Morley, Bristow. Subs: Hamilton (for Rowley HT); Ball (for Bradbury 21); Anderson (for Roper HT); Isherwood (for Morley 29); Bradbury (for Isherwood BB 48, BBR 60); Bradbury (for McCulley 62).

HUNSLET: Cook; Powell, Ross, Seal, Henderson; Allen, Naylor; Wray, Dobson, Lee, Lockwood, Jessey, Sanchez. Subs: Turton (for Ross 43), Thornton (for Lee 43), Coleman (for Dobson 24), Rumford (for Lockwood 31), Dobson (for Jessey 51); Ross (for Allen 66).

Penalties won: Leigh 9, Hunslet 7.

Scrums won: Leigh 4, Hunslet 8.

Referee: Karl Kirkpatrick (Warrington).

Attendance: 2293.