Preview: Halifax RLFC V Leigh Centurions

Halifax RLFC’s title credentials will be given a thorough examination when they take on Leigh Centurions on Sunday.

With the half-way point of the season fast approaching, Fax host third placed Leigh with a healthy five point lead at the top of the Kingstone Press Championship.

However, with Karl Harrison’s side scheduled to visit Featherstone Rovers in their following league fixture, their stranglehold of the division could either be secure or loosened come the end of April.

And with their fourth round Challenge Cup tie with Barrow sandwiched in the middle, April looks set to be a defining month in Halifax’s season.

First and foremost they will go up against a Leigh side that has won nine of their last ten matches. Defeat to Sheffield along with their opening day loss to Featherstone has seen them fall five points behind Halifax, but victory over Karl Harrison’s men would put them right back in the mix at the top of the table.

Halifax have struggled against Leigh in recent history, winning just one of their last five league outings against the Centurions. That victory came back in June 2011 as Fax broke Leigh’s unbeaten start to the season, a favour Paul Rowley’s side will look to return on Sunday.

If those previous meetings are anything to go by, both sets of supporters can expect a high scoring affair with 396 points scored in meetings between the sides since 2010. With the likes of Anthony Thackeray, Scott Murrell and the duo of Bob Beswick and Sean Penkywicz all ready to make their presence felt, more points can be expected.

The battle between the two sides’ creative players is likely to be the difference. Handforth, Thackeray and Murrell have so far outclassed all before them, but with Penkywicz, Beswick and Ryan Brierley pitting their wits against them they face their toughest challenge to date.

The return of Penkywicz in particular is intriguing. The influential hooker made 139 appearances for Fax in two spells with the club before moving to his home town team for the 2013 campaign. His match winning abilities have been seen on numerous occasions at The Shay, but with him now on the opposing side it will be compelling to see how Fax go about keeping him quiet.

Penkywicz won’t be the only player to make his return to The Shay. Along with Penkywicz and Beswick, Thomas Coyle and Michael Ostick shall attempt to haunt their former club. Additionally, Leigh’s head coach Paul Rowley also returns after spending six years with Halifax in the 90’s, playing a key part in some of 

Fax’s most successful times in recent history.

Karl Harrison is expected to recall the likes of Scott Murrell, Ryan Fieldhouse and Rob Worrincy after resting them in Fax’s Challenge Cup win over Oxford. Meanwhile, Martin Aspinwall will be unavailable for Leigh after being ruled out for 12 weeks with a ruptured bicep.