AFTER making a slow start Leigh RU showed flashes of their true form as they eased to a 31-7 win over Vagabonds from the Isle of Man.

A Leigh pack reorganised due to injuries failed to win early possession from scrums and line-outs and cast doubt on their early prospects, particularly when an early chance was denied for a forward pass, and a well struck penalty hit the post.

Despite the struggle for possession, a clever chip over a flat defence by Peacock saw winger Sinclair win the race for the touchdown and a five point lead.

As Leigh came to grips with their problems, a rare line-out win produced a flowing back movement for Oldham to squeeze into the corner for a try which was well converted by Wilcock from the touchline.

A further chance went unrewarded when Tau Liku was held just short after a superb forward drive but from the subsequent play Peacock produced an identical chip for Sinclair to repeat his earlier scoring effort after good work by the scavenging Leigh forwards set up position. The conversion again hit the woodwork for a 17-0 half time lead.

Leigh were forced to defend from the re-start but broke out of defence when Bentham kicked ahead for the pacey Wilcock to fly-hack forward and re-gather to cross under the posts and convert his own try. As the Leigh pack grew in confidence, a series of driving mauls took play to the visitors line from where Tavita Liku crashed over for Wilcock to convert again and a comfortable 31-0 lead.

Vagabonds briefly rallied and Leigh were forced to defend a series of five metre scrums, which eventually produced a converted push-over try. Leigh however, were content to run down the clock and were guilty of numerous missed chances in the latter stages which should have boosted the final score to something greater than the comfortable 31-7.

The Hawks never recovered from the slow start they made against Aspull and went down 28-21.

The Aspull side, strengthened by the recent arrival of a New Zealand centre of silky running skills dominated a half where the Hawks failed to do themselves justice and went into the break 18-0 up.

The second half started as the first had ended with the canny forwards of Aspull creating room for their backs to work scoring another try and soon added a penalty for a 28-0 scoreline.

With 15 minutes to go, the Hawks finally rose to the challenge and in a rousing finale went over the Aspull line three times courtesy of Krause, Boardman and Bates, all which Greenwood converted.

The Colts returned to winning ways with an emphatic 35-12 win at Whitchurch.

The long journey did not affect Leigh who quickly gained control with a Phil Gwilliam penalty followed by forward scores from Tom Hassett and Michael Murray. This continued with a scrum pick up by Calvin Crompton to plunge over.

Leigh gifted tries either side of the interval through basic errors but re-established control with a further penalty and tries from Johnny Bishop and Tom Martin to seal victory.

Vale of Lune U16s came with a depleted side so Leigh made up the numbers. This seemed to unsettle Leigh and they couldnt find any rhythm to their play. Vale took the lead but two tries from Woods gave Leigh the lead.

A half time shake up resulted in Leigh springing to life to score eight tries through Parrott 3, Diggins 2, Trumble, Baker and Knapman with conversions from Rushworth 2, Knapman 4 and Baker.

A depleted Leigh U15s gave a good performance in a 34-5 defeat by Vale of Lune.

They started well, putting pressure on the home side with Roberts leading the way in attack and Brown in defence. The deadlock was finally broken when Vale scored after an apparent knock-on and before Leigh could recover they stretched their lead. Leigh were determined to battle back however and after a break by Davies and Parkinson the resulting forward play saw Fiendley score a deserved try.

With the whole team putting in strong tackles Vale could not break through and it was only when Leigh pushed to equalise that Vale score two interceptions tries. A crucial injury to scrum half Sale saw Vale take advantage of the extra man and further bad luck saw Vale run out winners.

Leigh's Under 8's travelled to Warrington for a hastily arranged fixture as Aldwinians cried off. The under 8's were in total control for the whole game as Warrington are in the middle of a player drive so their teamwork was not present.

Leigh's defence were again on top continually pushing the opposition back towards their own line which caused them to make mistakes and Leigh capitalised every time. Roddy again took the tag-man award but was pushed harder this week by the impressive Hall, Mcloughlin, Whittingham and Lamb. In attack Gannon, Jones and Hewitson played their part with good performances from Baines and Platt.

Top Try Scorer was Gannon with 3, Top Tagger was Roddy with 8 and Man of the Match was Hall.

The U7s game was a scrappy one sided affair with Leigh up against an inexperienced Warrington team. Warrington could not handle the strong penetrating running from Alex Ward, Cameron Rigg and Cameron Gallagher and they found it difficult to breech the Leigh defence.

Top Try Scorer was Alex Ward with 3, Top Tagger was Alex Ward with 7 and Man of the Match was Jack Webster. Additional tries from Cameron Rigg 2 and Cameron Gallagher. Additional Tags from Cameron Rigg 3, Jack Hulme 3, Jack McKercher 2, Peter Harte 2, and Thomas Davies. They were well supported by James Urmston, Jake Westwell and Matthew Lee.