By Matt Lawton
June 15 2003

Dewsbury couldn't be faulted for their effort or desire, but Leigh's class and ability eventually told as they won outright leadership of NL1 with a comfortable victory at Ram Stadium. In stifling heat at a sun-drenched Ram Stadium, both sides created several chances to open the scoring despite neither side starting at full pace as they looked to conserve energy on an unusually warm West Yorkshire afternoon. Dewsbury failed to score after a mistake from former Widnes centre Damian Munro and Alan Hadcroft did likewise at the opposite end when he failed to get over the whitewash after chasing his own kick on the last tackle.

Leigh took the lead just before the twenty-minute mark when Munro chased a grubber kick from Australian stand off Patrick Weisner and grounded the ball with Weisner converting a difficult kick for the full quota of points. Leigh continued the pressure and extended their lead when Weisner converted a penalty after the hosts were penalised for ripping the ball out of the tackle.

Leigh extended their lead just before half time when Damian Munro went over for his second try. Willie Swann’s pass, which was actually aimed for Pat Weisner, found its way to Munro, who went through the gap to extend Leigh’s lead, with Weisner again adding the extras to give Leigh a comfortable 14-0 lead over the NL1 basement team. An amazing 55-yard drop goal from Pat Weisner extended Leigh’s lead to a half time score of 15-0.

Leigh started the second half quite slowly but virtually sealed the game with a quick burst of tries early in the second period when both Willie Swann and Alan Hadcroft went over for four pointers, with Pat Weisner converting Swann’s try.

Dewsbury pulled a try back with a superb try from Mark Batty who sprinted 80 metres to the line with the try being converted. However, Leigh quickly replied with a try from England international hooker Paul Rowley after good work from Willie Swann and Damian Munro, with Weisner again adding the extras to re-open Leigh’s 25 point lead.

Dewsbury pulled back a late try through Wattanna but it was a mere consolation as Leigh romped away with the two points to consolidate their place at the top of the league to the delight of the Leigh support. The news that Leigh are now outright leaders is sure to be a huge boost before next weekend’s mammoth game against local rivals Salford City Reds at The Coliseum.