HARD though it may be to take, Leigh got just what they deserved on Sunday.

Just seven days after their whirlwind win against Hull KR, the game went sour as they crashed to their most comprehensive defeat of the season.

Fourth-placed Hunslet simply gave them the runaround for a thumping 35-12 victory.

The reasons were obvious: Leigh had no penetration up front and defended poorly in the second half as the Yorkshire side piled on the points.

For the first time this season Leigh went a complete 40 minutes without scoring a point.

They had more than enough on their hands keeping Hunslet at bay and were fortunate to only concede one first-half try.

Chris Ross and James Walker both missed early penalty shots before Hunslet broke the stalemate on the half-hour.

Ross made space for winger Richard Baker to go clear. He kicked ahead, regathered and raced round to the posts for a try that Mike Fletcher improved.

Paul Wingfield was also off target with two long-range penalties before Fletcher knocked over a 39th minute drop to give the home side a 7-0 interval lead.

Winger Chris North extended their lead before Leigh pulled points back when sub Phil Kendrick scored with his first touch.

But there was to be no inspired comeback as Hunslet ran away with the game with four tries in 11 minutes from Walker, Steve Pryce, Rob D'Arcy and Shaun Irwin to go 35-6 up.

Leigh's only consolation was Kendrick's late solo try, taking his side into double figures. Not much consolation!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.