DEWSBURY RAMS 12 CENTURIONS 29.

DEWSBURY fans headed for the exits in droves while the Centurions' travelling army set about an impromptu conga.

The party was underway long before Russell Smith brought an astonishingly one-sided Preliminary Semi-Final to a close.

And how Leigh had earned their after-match drinks. Stunned to see Simon Baldwin red-carded inside the first 90 seconds, the Centurions bravely overcame their one-man disadvantage to sweep to yet another impressive victory over the Rams.

Now they are almost within sight of a Grand Final place. Just one more win will do it.

And if it's to be Dewsbury again in the Gigg Lane showdown on July 29, get your housekeeping money on the Hilton Park heroes.

And heroes they were. The magnificent 12 destroyed what is widely regarded as the best team in the Northern Ford Premiership for a third time in four matches

No-one was more proud than coach Paul Terzis who masterminded one of the most memorable backs-to-the-wall efforts in Leigh's history.

"It took a huge effort from the boys to overcome the handicap of losing Baldwin. To play 12 against 13 for 78 minutes and come up with a result like that was magnificent," said Terzis.

"In rugby league it's 13 on 13 and on attack the object is to get into one on one situations. Even though we were one short we constantly did that.

"I'm very proud of the players. It showed a great commitment to each other and to the club. They are the guys who deserve the accolades, not me.

"We might have been written off in some quarters, but those that have don't know the spirit that's in this club. Dismiss us at your peril!"

Central to Leigh's victory was the impressive half-back partnership between Liam Bretherton and Kieron Purtill. It might have been only their second match as a pairing in Leigh colours, but it looked like they been together for years.

Bretherton scored a try, four goals and a drop goal while Purtill's accuracy with the crossfield bomb brought a try for winger Alan Cross.

At times it was so one-sided it was impossible to tell which team was down to 12.

The game was only six tackles old when the Leigh second rower was dismissed on the say-so of a touchjudge for an off the ball challenge on Barry Eaton who recovered quickly to kick the Rams ahead.

But Leigh took it on the chin and had the match in the bag by half time with a 21-2 lead.

Even Rams' coach Neil Kelly grudgingly praised Leigh. "It seemed as if Leigh had 25 players and it was us who were short of numbers. I thought Leigh were exceptional on the day," he said.

Exceptional was the right word. In the first half they cut the Rams defence to shreds and in the second half worked tirelessly to restrict Dewsbury to just two tries.

Leigh took a lead they were never to lose in the 14th minute when Bretherton broke 60 metres up the middle. Andy Fairclough, Purtill and Paul Anderson all joined in and Phil Kendrick powered over.

If that was good, their next try was even better. The impressive Adam Bristow produced the perfect pass to release Fairclough and the Leigh skipper did all the hard work on a 40 metres run before sending Stuart Donlan in for a Bretherton converted try.

Bretherton went on to add the remaining first half points. His try came thanks to smart work by Mick Higham and Purtill and he went on to add two more goals and a drop goal which came after a monster 40-20 kick from Anderson.

Leigh's 19 point advantage was stretched even further 11 minutes after half time when Anderson's nicely weighted kick fell perfectly for Cross to dive in near the flag.

The penny finally dropped for Dewsbury, quickly moving the ball wide for Richard Baker to score.

But Leigh were never under any serious threat and when Alex Godfrey spilled Purtill's high kick, Cross pounced for a second time.

By the time Mark Cain sent Damion Ball over three minutes from the end, Leigh's terrace party was already in full swing.

Leigh: Donlan; Arkwright, Anderson, Fairclough, Cross; Bretherton, Purtill; Norman, Higham, Whittle, Baldwin, Kendrick, Bristow. Subs: (used) Bowker, Leathem, Street. (Not used): Ingram. Attendance: 2645.