By Matt Lawton
May 29 2003

Sunday afternoon will see a spectacle never seen before at The Coliseum, nor in it's days as Hilton Park when Leigh take on Doncaster Dragons in a vital National League One encounter amidst the fireworks, fanfare and fun. Supporters have been encouraged to arrive early for the game on Sunday and sample the pre-game "Super League-style" atmosphere which features musical performances, dancing and face painting along with many other entertainments prior to the game and during the half-time interval.

It's another of many iniatives to try and entice Leigh's huge dormant support back through the Hilton Park turnstiles and roar the team onto Super League. The pre-match entertainment is being treated as a rehearsal for matches next season should Leigh progress to Super League with plenty of fun and fanfare promised, along with a new sound system at the Coliseum which was installed earlier this week.

The match itself is hugely vital for the Centurions as they look to get their promotion bid back on track and recover from last weekend's shock 12-10 at the hands of Oldham Roughyeds at Boundary Park. Visitors Doncaster will also to be looking to bounce back after a disappointing home defeat against pre-season favourites Salford City Reds, despite the Dragons leading at both half time and late in the game. One physcological boost for the Dragons however will be the fact that they hammered Oldham the week prior to the Roughyeds defeating the Centurions.

Record-breaking full back Neil Turley may return to the side after six weeks on the sidelines with ankle ligament damage, although Centurions coach Paul Terzis will have to decide whether to drop David Alstead, who has been so impressive in the full back position that he has been called up for the National League One representative side, in favour of an instant return for Turley.

Former Widnes centre-cum-winger Damian Munro is struggling with an injury picked up against Oldham last week although he is expected to recover in time to face the Dragons. One player who looks certain to miss out however is half-back John Duffy, who's industrious performance was one of the few bright spots of last week's defeat. Youngster Lee Sanderson looks set to replace Duffy in the squad. Hooker John Hamilton is on stand-by to replace Paul Rowley who played against Oldham despite being rated at less than 50-50 prior to the game.

Other than those injuries, it should be a full strength Leigh side, with centre Dale Cardoza being free to face his former club despite being put on report for a second half incident at Boundary Park.

Make sure you're at The Coliseum for the fun, fanfare and atmosphere of Sunday afternoon rugby league in the sun.