THE FINGER of blame was pointed firmly at the defence as Leigh spluttered their way into the thick of the promotion battle.

Seven tries scored yet five conceded against the league's bottom club tells its own sorry story.

"We got it only half-right," admitted coach Keith Latham after Sunday's 44-28 win at Doncaster. "Our defensive organisation was poor, but I knew, with the ball in our hands, we would be too good for them.

"But if we are to mount a serious promotion challenge, we have to get the defensive side of our game sorted out. We're shipping too many points at the moment."

There is no doubt Leigh should have wrapped things up far more comfortably than they did.

After roaring into a 22-6 lead at better than a point a minute, they lost the plot and by half-time were hanging on at 22-18.

"One thing we have to start to learn is how to kill sides off," added Latham. "We shouldn't have let them back into the game. A more clinical team would have won at a canter."

As it was, Leigh effectively had to win the game twice and they had to rely on three tries in the first 19 minutes of the second half to give them some breathing space.

They could well have been in deep trouble but for a blistering start which brought three tries in the first 20 minutes.

Jimmy Veikoso, Leigh's most potent attacking weapon all afternoon, robbed marker Alex Goulbourne 40 metres out to gallop clean through to the corner.

Dean Purtill's touchline goal signalled a sensational display of place kicking with the winger starting with seven from seven and finishing with eight from 10.

Two Purtill penalties quickly followed before John Gunning had slipped through to make it 16-0. A Lee Kilpatrick try and Senior goal was followed by Veikoso's searing break that sent Purtill in for the first of his hat-trick.

Two Doncaster tries from Gavin Morgan in the closing minutes of the half had Leigh sweating, but they got some breathing space when sub David Ingram finished in the corner after a crisp cross-field move.

Veikoso sparked the best move of the match when his diagonal break ended with the supporting Purtill collecting the final pass to weave his way through from 40 metres.

The Tongan international worked a runaround for Ingram to collect his second try, and three minutes from time Veikoso unselfishly gave Purtill his third try in the corner.

But further tries from Senior and Jon Elvidge took the gloss off a victory that lifts Leigh into third place.

LEIGH: O'Loughlin; Purtill, Veikoso, Hadcroft, Burgess (Ingram 26); Gunning, Brown; Street, Bannister, Pucill, Liku (McGughan 32), Nixon (Daniel 32), Jukes (Jenkins 64). Attendance: 813.

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