LEIGH Centurions will face Batley Bulldogs for a place in Betfred Super League after triumphing in their respective Championship play-off semi-finals on Sunday.
Table-toppers Leigh made comfortable progress with a 70-10 thrashing of York City Knights, before Batley, who had finished fifth, sprung an upset by winning 32-28 at second-placed Featherstone Rovers.
Blake Ferguson notched a hat-trick in Leigh’s heavy victory, and there were braces from Nene Macdonald, Caleb Aekins and Edwin Ipape.
Sam Stone, Ed Chamberlain and Kai O’Donnell also registered tries and Krisnan Inu nailed 11 out of 12 conversions for the hosts, who led 40-0 at half-time.
York scored two of the last three tries at Leigh Sports Village, via Matty Marsh and Marcus Stock.
Leigh will now host Batley in the Betfred Championship Grand Final next Sunday.
Batley led 20-6 at the break following tries from Jonny Campbell, Luke Hooley and James Meadows, plus two conversions and a penalty by Tom Gilmore.
The score moved to 26-18 after Josh Hardcastle scored a brace for Featherstone, with Craig Hall – who had got a try of his own in the first half – adding the extras, either side of Lucas Walshaw’s effort for Batley.
The away side then went 32-18 ahead with 22 minutes left after Dane Manning crossed, and while Featherstone battled back with tries from Connor Jones and Luke Briscoe, they could not save themselves from defeat.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here