Leigh Centurions ...84

York Wasps...1

NO your eyes didn't deceive you, it was Tim Street kicking goals like a good 'un.

And if that wasn't odd enough, York celebrated their injury-time field goal with all the fervour of a match-winner!

It was that sort of silly afternoon.

For Leigh, it was fun in the sun. For York, it was another mauling in a season full of maulings.

The Centurions dedicated their final NFP league game of the season to Street who will retire at the end of the season after three spells of unstinting service at Hilton Park.

Although Street will be back for the play-offs, there can rarely have been easier farewell games.

It started as a Street party, became a carnival and finished with a procession as Leigh ended the NFP programme with their biggest win of the campaign. Fifteen tries in all rocketed Leigh's points tally to 1139 - an astonishing average of 40 points per game.

Leigh's NFP record is unlikely to be matched. They've accumulated 52 league points from a possible 56 and boast the top try scorer, goal scorer and points scorer in the division.

Try machine Neil Turley collected yet another hat-trick to takes his season's total to 53 while Simon Svabic's eight goals confirmed his standing as the NFP's top goals and points scorer.

But for all that, the day belong to Street - on and off the field.

The pack star was swamped with gifts of appreciation from supporters and the club before and after the game. Few players in Leigh's long history have been held in such high regard and the reception he received was moving and genuine. He'll be missed.

But for an hour it looked as though Street's swansong would be a low-key affair. Then, right on cue, Street stole the show.

The first of his two tries was a 'gimme' as Willie Swann unselfishly waited for Street to arrive before handing him the ball under the posts. But when Street sent the conversion sailing through the uprights and almost out of the ground, the fun really started.

Street went on to score one more try and take his goals tally to four from four. But just as he was getting the hang of this kicking lark, the final hooter brought an end to York's slaughter.

Any prospect York had of preventing a 19th successive defeat were wrecked when Leigh posted their first try inside 75 seconds; John Hamilton and Chris Morley punching the holes and Phil Kendrick finishing well.

As early as the fifth minute the game as a contest was over when Leigh went 10-0 up. A quick tap in front of the York posts brought Turley into the line. Swerving and stepping round four defenders, he sailed under the posts to give Svabic the first of eight conversions.

The longest York went without conceding a try was the half time break!

Although it was touch and go as the Wasps held out for nine minutes between Leigh's second and third touchdowns; Adam Bristow and Swann carving them up before Michael Watts kicked out of two tackles to race across.

Swann added a solo effort and Turley took Hamilton's sweet reverse pass to push Leigh out to 26-0 at better than a point a minute.

If York thought they'd seen the best of the Centurions, they were mistaken as Leigh produced one of their trademark length of the field efforts. Fielding York's kick off on his own tryline, Swann began the move that saw Hamilton put Turley away on his own '20'. York spotted the danger too late, Turley had bolted - cutting up the left before swerving inside and sprinting away for his hat-trick.

Leigh clearly had a thirst for tries and they added one more before half time when Jason Johnson and Turley combined to get Watts away for his second and a 38-0 interval lead.

One worrying moment for Leigh came just before the break when second rower Chris Morley was put on report for an alleged head butt on York skipper Alan Pallister.

Pallister it was who almost broke York's duck just 40 seconds after the restart. Stripping the ball away from Andy Leathem in a tackle, Pallister looked a certain scorer until Hamilton got back and pick-pocketed the ball off his opposite number.

Centres Kendrick and Andy Fairclough became more dominant with some incisive broken field running with Kendrick being rewarded for being in the right place at the right time to take Swann's deflected pass and dive in under the posts.

Not long afterwards Fairclough started and finished another crisp Leigh move while Svabic held up the ball perfectly for Morley to romp in and take his team over the 50 point mark.

Street's first try and goal brought up the 60 and Leigh were still scoring at a point a minute. Alan Hadcroft's first touch gave Dave Ingram the first of his two before Street scored a more conventional effort when he bulldozed over from close in.

The flood of points kept coming as Leigh added another 12 points in the final four minutes to equal the 84 they scored at York in March. Ingram backed up Johnson for his second and almost at the death sub Alan Cross blazed away after Fairclough had made the opening.

Goodness knows what Gareth Oulton was thinking about when he put over York's one-pointer in stoppage time. It was a crazy finish to a crazy afternoon.

LEIGH: Turley; Ingram, Kendrick, Fairclough, Watts; Svabic, Swann; Street, Hamilton, Whittle, Bristow, Morley, Johnson. Subs: Leathem (for Whittle 24), Hadcroft (for Turley 62), Cross (for Bristow 48), Norman (for Street 31), Whittle (for Svabic 67), Street (for Hamilton 54).

YORK: Hall; Mulholland, Wray, Molloy, Dooley; Oulton, Matsell; Hutchinson, Pallister, Precious, Crake, Pincher, Ramsden. Subs: Innes (for Wray 28), Sayer (for Hutchinson 36 BB, BBR 65), Bristow (for Crake 31), Robinson (for Matsell 52), Crake (for Bristow 76).

SCORERS: Leigh - Tries: Turley (3), Kendrick (2), Watts (2), Street (2), Ingram (2), Swann, Fairclough, Morley, Cross. Gls: Svabic 8/11 , Street 4/4. York - fg Oulton.

PENALTIES AWARDED: Leigh 8, York 4.

SCRUMS WON: Leigh 6, York 12.

ON REPORT: Morley (Leigh) - alleged head butt.

REFEREE: Ben Thaler (Wakefield).

ATTENDANCE: 2433