By Canadian Press

Toronto Wolfpack dispatch Leigh Centurions to extend winning streak to 21 games

Sep 7, 2019 | 1:23 PM

TORONTO — The Toronto Wolfpack downed Leigh Centurions 46-12 Saturday to run their winning streak to 21 games as they wrapped up regular-season play in the Betfred Championship.

The league-leading Wolfpack (26-1-0) enter the rugby league promotion playoffs on a high note, showing off tenacious defence and free-flowing offence against fourth-place Leigh (18-9-0) before an announced crowd of 8,152 on Fan Appreciation Day at Lamport Stadium.

Toronto kept one attack after another going, with players offloading the ball in the tackle, in a game that featured several flashpoints. There were fine individual efforts too, with Joe Mellor racing the length of the field for a dazzling try in the 59th minute.

Mellor’s try took Toronto’s points total to 1,000 for the season, more than 120 points better than the next team.

The Wolfpack have not lost since March 9 when they were beaten 46-16 in Toulouse. Toronto subsequently beat the French team twice (42-14 and 28-16).

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Josh McCrone scored two tries and Hakim Miloudi, Gareth O’Brien, Matty Russell, Liam Kay and Bob Beswick added singles for Toronto, which led 24-6 at the half. O’Brien also booted six conversions and a penalty in what was a comfortable win.

Russell’s try was his 27th of the campaign, tying Kay’s single-season team record set in 2017.

Kevin Brown and Ryan Brierley, a former Wolfpack player, scored tries for Leigh. Martyn Ridyard, in his 250th appearance for the Centurions, kicked two conversions.

The top five teams in the second-tier Championship make the playoffs, competing for one place in the Super League. Toronto fell at the last promotion hurdle last year, losing to the visiting London Broncos 4-2 in the Million Pound Game.

Toulouse Olympique (20-7-0) edged Featherstone Rovers 26-24 earlier Saturday to secure second place in the table. The top five — York City Knights, Leigh and Featherstone fill out the field — advance to the promotion playoffs with one Super League place up for grabs.

By virtue of its first-place finish in the regular season, Toronto has a bye to the semifinals where it will play the winner of a match between Toulouse and third-place York.

The strange existence of the transatlantic rugby league team was shown by the fact that the players left after the game for England, where they make their homes. They are slated to return a week in advance of the semifinal. 

Toronto clinched first place in the Championship back on July 21 with a win over Widnes.

Penalties and stiff Toronto defence kept Leigh penned in its own half early. The breakthrough came in the 12th minute when the Wolfpack carved open the Leigh defence with a series of offloads before McCrone touched down under the posts to cap the move.

Miloudi, a French international back who is hard to put down, scored in the 20th and set up O’Brien in the 22nd.

Tempers flared on the ensuing kickoff with Leigh’s Jake Emmitt, another former Wolfpack player, and Toronto’s Gadwin Springer both sent to the sin-bin.

Helped by a penalty for a high tackle, Leigh scored in the 35th minute when Brown bulled his way over. Ridyard’s conversion went through the posts, cleared the fence and bounced off a traffic light on nearby King Street.

Toronto kept on the pressure in the second half, increasing its lead to 32-6 on an O’Brien penalty and McCrone’s second try. McCrone was yellow-carded for some misbehaviour after the score.

Tries by Mellor and Kay added to the Wolfpack lead before Brierley touched down for Leigh. Beswick added a try under the posts in the final seconds.

NOTES: The Wolfpack were without forwards Adam Sidlow and Darck Lussick (calf) and Bodene Thompson (knee) … Leigh winger Gregg McNally celebrated his 250th career appearance (spread over six clubs and Ireland) … Toronto improved its career record to 5-0-0 against Leigh.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press