Million Pound Game Report: Leigh Centurions 44-12 Batley Bulldogs

A Krisnan Inu brace and tries from Lachlan Lam, Joe Wardle, Caleb Aekins, Joe Mellor, Nene Macdonald and Kai O’Donnell ensured there was no giant-killing act at the Leigh Sports Village, although Dale Morton and Adam Gledhill gave the travelling Batley fans something to celebrate in the second half.

The Bulldogs were just 80 minutes away from a place at rugby league’s top table following a gruelling Championship season which saw Craig Lingard’s part-time troops finish fifth in the regular league campaign before producing two stunning away performances at Barrow Raiders and Featherstone Rovers to secure their place in the Million Pound Game.

Their task at full-time Leigh was always going to be a mammoth one, with Adrian Lam’s men only losing once in the league all season and holding a 116-6 aggregate score over the Bulldogs in their two regular league contests.

However, if the Bulldogs’ game plan was to unsettle, unnerve and frustrate their opponents, they will have taken heart from a Leigh mistake within the opening five seconds as the ball was dropped straight from the kick-off. Batley then worked the ball out wide to the right, with Tom Gilmore finding Morton but he couldn’t force his way over for what would have been a dream start.

Leigh regrouped with Wardle and Macdonald both being thwarted by a battling Bulldogs defence before the visiting fans breathed a huge sigh of relief after Stone felt he had scored the game’s first try but it was ruled out for obstruction by referee Chris Kendall.

Perhaps the Bulldogs felt this was a good omen as Kendall, who usually officiates in the Super League, was the referee the last time Leigh lost a competitive game this season - their 24-18 defeat against Hull KR in the Challenge Cup in March.

However, Batley’s early resistance was eventually broken in the 14th minute.

Leigh shouldn’t have needed any help though, having scored a staggering 1,376 points this season, including the 70 they put past York City Knights in last weekend’s play-off semi-final. However, the try to get them to 1,380 was gift-wrapped by the Bulldogs.

Luke Hooley’s pass to Morton wasn’t held and Lam ran in unopposed to give the hosts the lead, with Inu successfully converting the extra two points.

The home side sensed blood but the Batley defence stood firm and splendidly denied Ed Chamberlain, Lam and Inu in a frenetic five-minute spell.

However, the Centurions got a deserved second try when Wardle did brilliantly to off-load a pass to Inu mid-tackle, allowing the New Zealand and Samoan international to crash over. He stepped up himself to add the extras.

And, two minutes before half-time, the game was, essentially, put out of Batley’s sights when Wardle added his own name to the scoresheet.

18-0 down, the half-time whistle was just a mere short break in the proceedings as there wasn’t any respite after the restart for the gallant visitors. 70 seconds into the second half, Caleb Aekins flew down the left hand side, from inside his own half, and scored in the corner. Again, the conversion was successful from Inu.

The game’s best try of the night soon followed as a flowing move allowed Aekins to turn provider for Joe Mellor who went over on his 250th career appearance, with Inu making it five out of five.

Try number six arrived in the 54th minute when Aekins found Macdonald and the Papua New Guinea international did the rest by going over in the corner.

Batley’s fans cheered when Inu missed the conversation. But they erupted with delight five minutes later when Morton doggedly grounded the ball over the line. It was no more than what they deserved for a spirited performance.

Gilmore added the extras but Leigh went straight to the other end and restored their comfortable lead when Inu went over for his second of the evening before converting his own try.

Second rower O’Donnell then got Leigh’s eighth try when he muscled over but there was still time for Batley’s fans to rejoice again when Gledhill gleefully crossed the line.

However, it was the majority of the 7,233 crowd who went home euphoric, as the Bulldogs’ Super League dreams were ended.