Batley 0-52 Leigh: Keanan Brand scores hat-trick as Centurions dominate Bulldogs

Keanan Brand crossed for a first half hat-trick as Leigh claimed a comfortable 52-0 victory over Batley at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium.

Adrian Lam’s side crossed for nine tries on Monday evening, with centre Krisnan Inu converting eight.

The Centurions are again just one point behind leaders Featherstone in the Championship table following the victory.

Batley’s Michael Ward made his 250th career appearance, named on the bench.

Leigh fans were made to wait until the next round to see star signing Blake Ferguson make his debut. Mark Ioane returned from injury, named on the bench.

Inu thought he had opened the scoring just three minutes into the clash. However, the Leigh centre was ruled to have knocked the ball on over the line by the official. 

Just five minutes later, Inu thought he had scored again only to be ruled offside chasing down a kick. 

Brand eventually opened the scoring on 15 minutes on the third time of asking for Leigh. A slick back-line play saw the former Widnes youngster cross over in the corner. Inu converting for a 6-0 lead. 

The 23-year-old crossed for his second just two minutes later to extend the visitor’s lead to 12-0. 

Hooker Aaron Smith crashed his way over on 23 minutes to give his side a three score lead just over a quarter into the game. 

Brand completed a first half hat-trick on 32 minutes thanks to a scrum play from the Centurions.

Edwin Ipape crossed just 90 seconds before the break to give his side a comfortable 28-0 lead at the break. 

It took Leigh 18 minutes into the second half to continue their scoring. Joe Mellor supporting a break for a 34-0 score. 

Back-rower Joe Wardle was next to score for the Centurions, before Inu finally crossed for his try on 71 minutes in the corner. Ipape