Tuesday, 5 January 2010

Pen Pictures of the Past

I've been largely responsible for writing the club pen pictures for around 10 years.

Here are my efforts from 2001:

Leigh Pen Pics:




Paul Anderson: Age 23 - Former Clubs - St Helens and Sheffield Eagles



A former Academy starlet during his time with St Helens, Anderson became a fixture on the Saints bench, being used mainly as a dynamic substitute. But, after failing to agree a deal with the Saints, Anderson joined the Eagles where injuries hampered further progress.



Anderson then came on loan to Leigh in 1999, sampling the best the NFP has to offer, before agreeing to join the Centurions on permanent basis following a call-up to the Scotland RL squad. He became a popular player on the terraces at Leigh



Although strong enough and big enough to appear in the forwards, Paul has played mainly at centre and was chosen in the NFP team of the year 2000. He scored 16 tries and 17 goals in a productive season last term. A dedicated trainer, “Ando” was said by previous Leigh coach Ian Millward to have ”skills not utilised” by his other clubs.





Simon Baldwin: Age 25 - Former Clubs: Halifax and Sheffield Eagles



Simon returned to Leigh last season after spending 6 seasons in Yorkshire with Halifax and then Sheffield. In 1995 Simon was capped by England after being a regular for Great Britain Academy and Under-21s.



He made a try scoring debut for Leigh in a 12-12 draw with Leeds in 1992 and soon cemented a regular first team spot. With finances becoming tight at the club, Leigh were forced to offload Baldwin and Paul Rowley who subsequently joined Halifax.



Baldwin is a wide running second-rower and one of Leigh’s main strike weapons, often hitting teams down the flanks where his pace and power have been prominent.



Radney Bowker: Age 21 - Former Clubs: Leigh East ARL



Radney Bowker is a talented player who to be fair hasn't really found the consistency in his performance just yet. On his day, Bowker is perhaps the best ball player Leigh have at present, but much of Radney's Leigh career has been from the substitute bench where his vision can be utilised to help break sides down.



A former Leigh East BARLA tourist, Radney joined the club in 1997.



With plenty of competition for places in 2001, Radney will be looking for a good start and if that happens, who knows where this youngster will go!



Paul Terzis was once quoted describing Bowker, “Radney can be as good as he wants to be, he has natural talent.” – Radney is currently on a month’s loan at St Helens







Andy Fairclough: Age 29 - Former Clubs: Wigan St Pats ARL, St Helens, Salford.



Andy Fairclough joined the Centurions from Wigan St Patricks ARL in 1997. He began as a professional at St Helens, moving to Salford before returning to the amateur game in 1994. Since his signing, Fairclough has appeared at centre, stand-off, second row and loose-forward, proving to be a versatile performer. A strong and determined runner, with a nice swerve, Fairclough has a very respectable tries to games ratio.



He is well respected in the Leigh dressing room and in 2000-01 Andy is joint on-field captain, continuing his skipper role from last season. He is now on the road to recovery following an ankle injury sustained at Featherstone.





Alan Hadcroft - Age 23 - Former Clubs - Leigh East ARL



After signing for the club in August 1995, Alan made his debut three months later in the historic first game at the South Leeds Stadium and held his place in the centre for the rest of the season.



Deceptively strong and pacy, Hadcroft was one of the big improvers for the Centurions in 1999. Ten tries in 24 outings marked the highest try scoring return for Alan since turning professional.



Last season, Hadcroft spent three months in Australia before rejoining the Centurions where he went on to make 15 appearances.



This season Hadcroft has become the Centurions number one winger, scoring several tries before injuring a shoulder against Batley.



David Ingram - Age 25 - Former Clubs - Wigan St Patricks ARL



David graduated through the Leigh Academy and Alliance teams, showing an instinctive eye for a gap and the pace to get through it.



After starting his Leigh career as a centre/stand-off in 1994, Ingram played in every game during a poor 1996 campaign, scoring 23 tries in a struggling second division side. His total ensured David a place in the top scorers table and he is one of the most prolific scorers in the club’s modern history.



Now utilised mainly on the wing and in the threequarters David has maintained his scoring exploits with 85 tries from less than 140 appearances.





Dave Jones - Age: 33 - Former Clubs - Wigan St Pats ARL, Wakefield, Oldham, Rochdale, Lancashire Lynx



Dave is an experienced three-quarter who should help boost the Centurions backline this season. A former BARLA international, Jones joined Wakefield from Wigan St Pats 10 years ago and has gone on to play for Trinity, Oldham and Rochdale in a varied career.



Last season in a struggling Lancashire Lynx side, Dave played 21 times, but is now relishing his move to Leigh.



Phil Kendrick - Age- 23



A graduate from the Rosebridge amateur club in Wigan, Phil arrived at the Centurions via Widnes in a double deal that also made Anthony Murray a Leigh player in 1998.



Having made an impact as a solid centre with good handling in his first season with the club, Ian Millward decided to switch Kendrick to the second row, a move that brought mixed success in 1999.



Also in 1999, Phil revealed another skill when he became the side's goalkicker for a spell. He achieved a reasonable success rate of 65%, adding 33 goals, 9 tries and two drop goals for a personal tally of 109 points.



Last season, Phil finished in great form following niggling injury which kept him out of the game for several months. Kendrick possesses the sort of destructive running and pace rarely seen from the back row positions.



Phil is a popular player on the terraces and scored his second hat-trick for the Centurions during last weekend’s 52-4 home success over Gateshead.





Chris Morley - Age: 27



Chris is the elder brother of GB Second Row Adrian Morley and signed for St Helens in 1991. He was part of the squad that lifted the Challenge Cup and Super League trophy in 1996 and appeared in 34 of Saints 38 games in 1997.



After a six year association, Chris left St Helens. He moved on to Warrington and Salford before starring with the reformed Sheffield Eagles last term.



A forceful runner who can offload the ball in a tackle, his athletic and aggressive approach to the game has already made him a hit with the Leigh fans this season. He was one of several NFP players that showed up well during World Cup 2000.



Morley has been a target for Paul Terzis since April and would have joined Leigh earlier, but for injury delayed his signing.



Paul Norman - Age: 26 - Former Clubs: Wigan St Judes, Golborne Parkside, Oldham Bears



Often dubbed a suber-sub, Paul Norman is a solid forward who never takes a backward step and gets on with an effective job. Paul is always amongst the thick of the action whether taking the ball up or tackling and seems to thrive off this involvement.



He was selected for the NFP West of Pennine select team in 1999 and followed that up with 29 appearances for the Centurions last term.



Paul is fighting his way back into first team contention following two different dislocations to the same finger recently.



Lee Sanderson - Age 19 - Former Club - Leigh East ARL



Lee Sanderson was the undoubted star of Leigh Academy's successful return season, excelling at scrum-half for much of the campaign and earning the clubs young-player of the year award following a string of Alliance appearances.



Rated highly by the coaching staff, Lee was described in the media as an “ace-card” and formed a fine understanding with his partner in the halves.



In addition to having a devastating side step and nippy acceleration over 15 metres, Sanderson is also a fine goal-kicker. Expect to see this youngster make his mark in 2001 after agreeing a new deal with the club.



Tim Street - Age: 32 - Former Clubs: Wigan St Pats ARL, Wigan, Swinton, Oldham, Hull



Tim has announced that 2000-01 may be his final season. There have been few (if any) more popular players at Leigh in recent times, and Street seems to be hated on every other ground after gaining a hot-headed reputation earlier in his career!



The prop has long since established himself as one of the best forwards outside Super League and during Leigh's dreadful 1998 season, he was named in the league “dream-team”, a feat he repeated in 1999.



Surprisingly mobile for a big man with the ability to offload a ball, his marauding runs have been a feature of the Centurions play since he rejoined Leigh for a third time in 1996. Last season he passed 200 appearances for the Leigh club.



Tim is unlikely to be in action today, he is currently recovering from a broken thumb.



Simon Svabic: Age- 20



Simon Svabic has been in great form since signing from Salford City Reds in December and currently heads the club goal-kicking and point scoring charts.



Simon is however, far more than a points accumulator. This season he has formed a fine understanding with Willie Swann, Keiron Purtill and Liam Bretherton at half-back with his organisation and field kicking skills playing a prominent part in Leigh’s charge to the top of the NFP table and cup win over Salford.



Svabic originally signed for Oldham but became a casualty of the Bears demise in 1997. Svabic was a regular in the Reds Alliance team this last season.



Paul Terzis rates his capture highly and has been impressed with what he has seen of a player who was the Leigh team mascot back in 1984 when the Centurions last defeated local rivals Wigan.



Willie Swann - Age 26



Willie Swann is a very experienced player and one who adds enormous versatility to the side. He can play in the centres, at halfback, hooker and even loose-forward. After joining Warrington in 1996, Willie has since played for Rochdale and Hunslet before agreeing to join the Centurions for 2001.



A veteran of two World Cup campaigns with Samoa in 1995 and 2000, Swann has a varied passing game and is seen as a strike player. He once had the distinction of scoring 4 tries against Leigh and is sure to get his chance this season.



Swann was particularly impressive for the Centurions in recent wins over York and Gateshead.



Neil Turley - Age 20



Neil Turley was one of several promising Leigh juniors snapped up by Wigan 4 years ago. After starring in the Warriors Academy team, running in a huge total of points, and being selected for Lancashire Academy, Turley seemed set to take the rugby league world by storm.



Unfortunatey, the script never came to fruition after the young fullback injured his knee while playing in Wigan's alliance side. The injury kept Neil out of the game for almost a year, and the youngster looked like he had been cast on the Wigan scrap-heap. Spotting his potential, Ian Millward offered the youngster a trial with Leigh's alliance team last season. In two alliance games Turley scored three tries and kicked a goal before suffering injury once again.



Since returning to full fitness, Turley has burst onto the scene with a staggering 27 tries in 14 games for the Centurions. His mixture of clever support play and tricky footwork has already made the local lad a terrace hero! He is the son of Leigh assistant coach Norman Turley.





Dave Whittle: Age - 24 - Former Clubs: Ince St.Williams ARL ,Wigan St.Pats ARL, Wigan



Dave Whittle was Ian Millward's second signing in November 1998, joining from Wigan Warriors following a successful five game loan spell in 1998.



Whittle played for the Warriors for three years but failed to break into the first team despite performing well for their alliance side.



Seen by many as the long-term replacement for Tim Street, Dave has impressed the Leigh faithful with his commitment, playing through the pain barrier on a number of occasions to help the Leigh cause.



Whittle was selected in the Welsh World Cup Squad, and performed brilliantly until injury brought a premature end to his tournament. With Whittle, Street, Leathem and Morley in their pack, Leigh can boast one of the most durable packs in the NFP competition.









Craig Wingfield: Age- 20



Craig is the brother of winger Paul Wingfield and also joined the Centurions from Warrington in 1998. Craig starred for the England Schools side before joining the Wolves Academy. Following his release, Leigh snapped the youngster up and after a short time in Leigh's Academy team, Wingfield progressed to the reserve side.



He is a versatile forward with a resolute and all action way of playing the game, having covered both prop and back-row positions in addition to loose-forward. Following a consistent Alliance season in 2000 Wingfield has been included in the clubs first team squad for the forthcoming season.



He already has a handful of first team appearances under his belt.





Paul Wingfield: Age 22



After joining Leigh on-loan in 1998, Paul Wingfield quickly cemented his place on Leigh's right wing, scoring 4 tries and 61 goals in his debut season. Wingfield showed faith in the Leigh cause, turning down an approach from Sheffield Eagles in an attempt to drag Leigh away from the foot of the table.



Once the season had finished Leigh moved to secure his services, making the winger's move permanent. Before joining Leigh, Paul worked his way through the system at Warrington, starring for academy and alliance



Often described as an unspectacular and solid wingman, Paul goes about his job in a quiet and assured manner. He impressed Mike Gregory and Peter Roe in 1999 when he was selected to appear in the NFP representative teams.



2000 saw Paul turn in consistent shows, and he came agonisingly close to reaching 100 goals for the season. The wingman was well on-course before injury curtailed his campaign. He finished the season with a 72% kicking success rate. He is once more a part of the squad.



Dave Bradbury - Age 29



Dave is a versatile and aggressive forward who joined Leigh this season. A former Leigh Miners junior player, he is finally realising a boyhood ambition after playing with Oldham, Salford and Huddersfield.



Huddersfield coach Tony Smith spoke highly of Bradbury after he had a consistent season for the Super League club and his signing was seen as a huge boost.



During his career the strong running hard-hitter has represented Great Britain, being a member of their 1996 touring party. He played in 4 games on that tour, scoring 2 tries and he was also a part of Ireland’s 2000 World Cup squad.



Bradbury has been in great form for the Centurions recently, where he has played mainly at prop during the opening third of the season.







Liam Bretherton - Age 21: Former Clubs : Warrington, Whitehaven, Wigan



The 21 year-old quickly made himself a popular player last season when he linked up with the Centurions on a loan move from Wigan. In five games he ran in a total of 45 points and was voted Man-of-the-Match twice!



Liam started off at Warrington before a move to Whitehaven kickstarted a promising career. He played half a season with the Cumbrians before Wigan acquired his services in June 1998.



Liam has made his move to Leigh permanent and has the ability to fill a number of key back positions with equal effect. He was Leigh’s fourth World Cup representative, appearing from the bench for Ireland.



Already this season Liam has covered at fullback, wing, centre, stand-off and scrum-half.



Adam Bristow - Age: 28



The second-row / loose forward joined Leigh from the now defunct Australian club Western Suburbs in November 1999 and following a slow start to his Centurion career, Adam has since become a very respected player on the terraces. He possesses a tremendous workrate and is a good passer of the ball. Bristow was also very durable in 2000, appearing in all of Leigh’s 34 games.



Adam was the hero of Leigh’s great cup win against Salford, scoring what has proved to be his only try of the season so far at a vital moment.



He is club co-captain this season - a mark of how highly rated he is.



Alan Cross - Age 22



A former St Helens junior, Cross joined Leigh last season and enjoyed a profitable campaign with an 18 try return. He is a solid player with a fine turn of pace that was demonstrated particularly against Barrow and Doncaster last season. (He scored a hat-trick against Barrow and finished a wonderful jinking run at Doncaster). Cross is able to cover both centre and wing positions and is sure to play an important part of the squad this season.



Unfortunately Cross suffered an injury playing rugby union in the close season and is still regaining his fitness.



John Duffy: Age- 20



Duffy joined Warrington at a tender age before making his first team debut in 1996. His performances caught the eye and the scrum-half became the youngest ever international when he played for Scotland later that year.



Unfortunately a broken leg hampered further progress and the arrival of Lee Briers at Wilderspool saw a decline in Duffy’s first team opportunities. From Warrington Duffy moved to Salford where he formed a fine understanding with Simon Svabic in the City Reds reserve side.



Duffy has turned in some eye-catching performances recently, being utilised mainly at hooker by coach Terzis.



John Hamilton: Age - 21



John Hamilton has been the St Helens reserve hooker for 3 years but the continued form of Keiron Cunningham has pegged the youngster back. Surprisingly overlooked by St Helens last season, Hamilton comes highly rated and along with Martin Roden and Safraz Patel, he is expected to cover the hole left by Mick Higham.



His performances so far this season have been of consistent high standard.





Martin Roden: Age 20



While his brother is playing at half-back for Oldham this season, Martin has opted for Leigh following a six game spell with Lancashire Lynx last season.



The youngster came through the academy ranks at Wigan and was a member of the succesful 2000 alliance squad before deciding to move to the NFP. Roden has a high workrate and could prove to be another shrewd Paul Terzis signing.



Safraz Patel: Age 24



After bursting onto the Leigh scene in 1996, Safraz now finds himself in a battle to re-establish himself in the Leigh first team. In many respects Patel has been unlucky, but typical of the character he is, Safraz has battled back.



A versatile player, able to cover at hooker, loose-forward, stand-off and scrum-half, Patel worked his way through the system at Leigh and looked set for a successful first grade career in 1997 following a good season. However, injury in a pre-season game against Wigan all but took a season away from Patel. None the less back he came to figure strongly in 1999 before a loss of confidence hit hard.



Last season Patel was a member of the alliance squad and consistently produced good performances, only to be kept in the wings by the prolific form of Mick Higham. With Higham now departed Patel has been named in the first team squad.



Keiron Purtill - Age: 23



The brother of former Centurions point scoring ace Dean Purtill joined Leigh in April 1998 from Wigan's Alliance team and has been a virtual ever present since.



A highly under-rated player, Keiron is equally at home in the centre and halfback positions. He possesses a tackling workrate as high as a forward to compliment a dangerous passing and short kicking game that has created several problems for teams at Northern Ford Premiership level.



Keiron was voted First Team Players Player of the season in 2000 after a memorable season in which he appeared in 30 of the Centurions 34 games and was named Man-of-the-Match in the Challenge Cup match with Wakefield despite finishing on the losing side and playing opposite former international Bobby Goulding.



Purtill has been named club captain for the 2000-01 season.





Andy Leathem: Age 23



Andy Leathem joined the club last season from St Helens where he made 45 appearances in 6 seasons. At 23 years of age the former Crosfields junior has already helped the Saints lift the Super League title, and played a ten game loan spell with Warrington before being released by Ian Millward.



Andy is a big man who made an instant impression with a blockbusting 60 metre try at Swinton last season. Leathem has been a consistent performer so far this year after working hard during the close season.





Jason Johnson: Age 22 - Former Clubs St Helens.

Jason joined Leigh this season after recovering from a broken leg. A half-back by trade, Johnson can also play at loose forward but it is as a centre he has caught the eye recently.

Several tries for the alliance team marked his return to fitness while in recent weeks he has taken his first team chance well in the absence of captain Andy Fairclough.

Johson spent 4 years with St Helens where he was highly rated. Jason will no doubt be looking forward to combining with former team mates Chris Morley, Andy Leathem, John Hamliton and Alan Cross as the season progresses.



Jamie Gass

The big prop paid his own way over to England in early December hoping to force his way into the Centurions starting squad. At 27 he has his best years ahead of him and he is an Australian with an Irish passport.

Gass formerly played under Terzis at Illawarra and looks set to announce his arrival after debuting in the 28-5 cup win over crack amateur side West Hull. In Australia he was known for being a big hitter and within 3 days of arriving at Hilton Park he had made his presence felt in the gymnasium, reportedly squatting 160kg with ease!

Since then Gass has worked hard and his first team call-up has been deserved.



Michael Watts

A 23-year-old utility back who has so far made an impression on the wing. Watts is a willing worker, always looking to carry the ball forward and inject his strength and pace into the game. He previously played in Australia for North Sydney.

Michael came over to England in mid December looking to try his luck in the NFP competition and so far Watts has proved to be a real bargain signing for the Centurions, scoring several tries in recent outings.

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