NEIL Jukes won’t turn a deaf ear to the ‘gallant losers’ accolades just yet.

Leeds coaching staff and players were genuinely fulsome in their praise of Leigh’s effort after a gripping first home Super League game for 12 years.

Had Atelea Vea kept a cooler head in the closing stages, then the Centurions would probably now already possess that much cherished first victory.

Instead, Vea clung onto the ball rather than off loading to team mates out wide and Jimmy Keinhorst produced a memorable game saving cover tackle.

Tom Briscoe similarly denied Matty Dawson and Liam Sutcliffe’s 40-20 finally secured the 2015 Treble winners their first win of 2017.

So, Leigh, who had led 8-0 after as many minutes, just failed to claw back a 17-8 deficit.

“While we are a club in progression, I want to be winning games,” said head coach Jukes.

“I don’t want to be sitting here saying how well we are playing and that we are getting a better.

“I want to win games and we should have won that game. So, I am really disappointed.

“We have got to get out of that five or six-minute spell where we conceded try-try and just forget everything we had been doing.

“In general though we smartened up a lot of things (from Castleford) and while perhaps Leeds attack was a bit off, I thought we had some good whack in us and forced a few errors as well.

“When you challenge with the ball it makes your defence easier because the opposition is getting more fatigued.

“But we are not a million miles off. While Leeds had a difficult season last year, I think they are going to be up there this time.”

Leigh certainly showed a big improvement from the previous 44-16 defeat against the Tigers.

They also had to overcome Gareth Hock’s departure after 12 minutes with a dead leg, playing with 12-men after Jamie Acton’s needless second half sin binning and the eventual loss of Antoni Maria with shoulder and wrist issues.

In addition, they started with only one recognised hooker and without injured veterans Glenn Stewart and Micky Higham.

But what a start! Tries from Matty Dawson and Mitch Brown rocked Leeds and Ben Reynolds’ missed conversions eventually proved pivotal.

Hock’s departure was a big blow and Leeds came roaring back inspired by new Aussie hooker, Matt Parcell. He was involved in touch downs for Adam Cuthbertson and Ryan Hall as the Rhinos took the lead before centre Jimmy Keinhorst went over eight minutes from the break.

Leeds also conjured up a towering drop goal on the stroke of half-time courtesy of Sutcliffe’s boot. The stand-off’s 62nd minute penalty took the score out to 17-8 as Leigh’s challenge looked set to fizzle out especially with Acton off the field for holding back Briscoe in the in-goal area.

Roared on, the Centurions hit back through a Ben Crooks try and Reynolds goal. Leeds were forced into desperate late defence to protect their slim advantage which, thanks to Keinhorst and Briscoe, they just about managed.

Leigh: Brown; Higson, Crooks, Tonga, Dawson; Reynolds, Drinkwater; Hock, Pelissier, Maria, Paterson, Vea, Hansen; subs: Hampshire, Hopkins, Acton, Tickle.

Leeds: Golding; Briscoe, Watkins, Keinhorst, Hall; Sutcliffe, Burrow; Mullally, Parcell, Singleton, Ward, Ablett, Jones-Buchanan; subs: McGuire, Cuthbertson, Walters, Ormondroyd.