Ex-Giants duo take the reins
FORMER Huddersfield Giants coaching duo Paul Anderson and Kieron Purtill are back in business – although it may be only a temporary arrangement.
The pair have taken the reins at Championship outfit Leigh Centurions.
The Centurions are looking for a new coach following the resignation of Neil Jukes just a month into the season.
The 41-year-old quit his job following discussions with club owner Derek Beaumont in the aftermath of the Centurions’ 32-26 home defeat to Toulouse on Sunday.
It was the third defeat in four Betfred Championship matches for Leigh, who were the firm favourites to make a swift return to Super League following their relegation last September.
Purtill will take over as caretaker coach with Anderson acting as his assistant while the club advertise the vacancy.
Beaumont said: “It’s a sad day for me. Neil has the best interests of the club at heart.
“When he thought he was the man who could no longer deliver he would let me know before I got in the position to have to sack him.
“We had a really interesting twohour conversation that I found very emotional, seeing a guy who I know cares so deeply about this club that he wants to leave the position open to a guy he believes will be better than him to take the club forward.”
Jukes played for Leigh and succeeded Paul Rowley as head coach on the eve of the 2016 season.
He guided the Centurions to promotion at the first attempt but saw them relinquish their spot after they lost to Catalans Dragons in the Million Pound Game.
Jukes said: “Since returning to Leigh I’ve been part of this club for nearly 10 years and I believe I’ve served it with distinction as assistant coach and head coach.
“We’ve had some unbelievably great times that I will never forget and also some bad times, far worse than we are experiencing at the moment.
“What is important is to get the club and the playing group to where it needs to be and there comes a time when everyone’s lifespan on the shelf comes to an end.
“I’m a genuine local guy and no one will be more pleased than me if we achieve our Super League goal this year.”
Leeds head coach Brian McDermott refused to blame the club’s trip to Australia after his depleted side suffered their first defeat of the Super League season at Widnes.
The champions arrived at Halton Stadium without 12 first team players, including seven of the team that were beaten 38-4 by Melbourne in last weekend’s World Club Challenge.
Leeds were leading 6-4 at halftime thanks to Brad Dwyer’s try but a team featuring youngsters and players battered by the Storm inevitably tired and Widnes took advantage to claim a 23-6 victory.
The bulk of the Rhinos squad touched back down in England last Sunday and McDermott insisted they had enough time to recover for the game.
“We haven’t been down a mine digging coal,” he said. “Everyone talks about the travel but it’s not the worst thing in the world.
“We’ve got a million staff taking care of them and while it would have had an affect and I wasn’t expecting a 10 out of 10 performance, that was still disappointing.
“The late changes were the disruptive ones. Ryan Hall with his tonsillitis and Tom Briscoe with a sciatic problem in his back. They were Saturday when they pulled out and we’ve then got no time to prep.”