ST HELENS 17, LEIGH CENTURIONS 16 by Mike Hulme: Pre-season trial games are notorious for creating false impressions but if the Centurions can keep this sort of performance going when the real stuff starts in February, they might not be the Super League easybeats many expect them to be.

Leigh can take tremendous credit and encouragement from Boxing Day's hit-out in the snow.

They stunned the home team with two tries in the opening eight minutes; lead 12-0 at half time and were never behind until Scott Moore put over a last minute drop goal to give Saints a one-point victory. Victory on the scoreboard to Saints - moral victory to Leigh.

Neither side was anywhere near full strength but with Keith Mason, Mark Edmondson, Mike Bennett and new signings Michael Smith and Paul Anderson in the pack, Saints had hoped to smash Leigh through the middle. It was tactic Leigh relished with front rowers Matt Sturm and Richard Marshall getting through a ton of defensive work quite comfortably.

Leigh bloodied four of their new overseas recruit in Jason Ferris, Kevin Henderson, Marc Leafa and James King. Henderson and King settled in without too much trouble with Leafa looking a real handful in the first half before being sin-binned for dissent and subsequently withdrawn.

But it was Ferris, operating at loose forward in the first half and stand-off in the second, who looked a class act. He seemed to immediately strike a good understanding with John Duffy and was responsible for getting Leigh round the park intelligently and on this evidence his short kicking game will be invaluable.

Duffy always looked the one most capable of opening Saints defence and had Leigh finished slightly better, the result would have been sewn up long before Moores winner.

Rob Smyth looked sharp on the right wing and fittingly collected Leigh first two tries. Just four minutes had gone when Leafa slipped a ball out of the tackle and Neil Turley whipped out a pass for Smyth to get in at the corner. Less than four minutes later Smyth was at it again. After Smyth forced Miles Greenwood into a mistake, Leigh moved the ball quickly from left to right and Rob Jackson brought Smyth back on the inside for a second try. Two conversions from Turley had Leigh pinching themselves at 12-0.

Leigh defended well when they had to and almost added two more tries at the other end. Ferris was finger-tip away from scoring from his own kick through and Jackson had a try disallowed at the corner - a decision which earned Leafa a yellow card.

When Leigh started the second half with a youthfull line-up the inevitable happened and within seven minutes Saints were level through tries from Gareth Langley and Anderson, both goaled by Carl Forber.

The unlucky Mick Govin had knocked on over the line from Duffys break before Leigh's third try in the 58th minute put them ahead again. Ferris Duffy and James Taylor all combined to send Jackson over from 15 metres for a 16-12 lead.

Saints levelled again nine minutes from time when Moores short pass gave Bennett the opening to score. Forber's conversion hit the woodwork and a draw looked likely until Moore's one-pointer against his hometown team decided it Saints' way.

LEIGH: Turley; Smyth, Jackson, Cooper, Halliwell; Jones, John Duffy; Marshall, Govin, Sturm, Leafa, Henderson, Ferris. Subs: Jay Duffy, Maddocks, Johnson, Draper, Peet, King, Taylor, Owen.

SAINTS: Hardman, Feaunati, Viane, Gardner, Greenwood, Moore, Forber, Anderson, Roby, Mason, Smith, Bennett, Graham, Bostock, Clough, Cooper, Edmondson, Faasavalu, Langley, Rigby, Smith, Williams.

Attendance: 4676.

Referee: Karl Kitkpatrick (Warrington).