Leigh Centurions would be a top six Super League side
Picture by Will Palmer/SWpix.com - 28/05/2022 - Rugby League - AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final - Featherstone Rovers v Leigh Centurions - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England - Blake Ferguson Cowell of Leigh Centurions celebrates his sides victory in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final
It’s a bold statement, but it’s one which has certain credibility.
Leigh Centurions have taken the Championship by absolute storm in 2022, sitting top of the second tier after winning the 1895 Cup with owner Derek Beaumont bankrolling the club to be within an incredible shot of Super League promotion.
Some incredible signings have been made by head coach Adrian Lam and head of rugby Chris Chester with the likes of Edwin Ipape and Blake Ferguson underlining their credentials as some of the most exciting players in the UK.
Indeed, leading rugby league agent Craig Harrison previously said that the Centurions have the best player in the country in the moment with Ferguson.
“You’ve got back-rowers and then you’ve got a couple of props who would fit into a top five club – you can talk about a 6 ft 4 bloke doing somersaults in the air and taking 15 metres carries off the backline and props are falling off him,” Harrison said on The Full Eighty Minutes podcast.
“The level where he is – he could be the best winger in all the competitions now, so the top player in the country right now is in the Championship!”
Leigh further underlined their credentials against biggest Championship rivals Featherstone Rovers with a stunning 46-16 win against their West Yorkshire opponents at Headingley’s Summer Bash.
Nothing seems to be able to stop the Centurions and it can even be claimed that the Lancashire club would take Super League by storm.
Of course, what could stop that from happening is the fact that Leigh would have to get rid of a number of quota players who have been so pivotal to their charge to the top of the second tier.
Whilst there is no quota limit in the Championship, the same cannot be said of Super League with only seven quota spaces available.
Having said that, Leigh’s recruitment has been as such in 2022 that there would be little doubt that they could pull it off in Super League if they make it in 2023.
And, with the current climate of Super League being as it is with a number of teams scrambling for the play-offs after inconsistent seasons, the door would be wide open for a strong Leigh.