IT was a newlook Centurions side that got Leigh's NFP season off to a belated, and winning, start last Sunday.

Not only did Leigh have seven new players on view, but they also showed an uncharacteristic mean streak.

In their two outings so far, against South Sydney and Barrow, Leigh have conceded just one try in each -a significant improvement on last season when their points against column showed a match average of 17.

"We've worked very hard on our defensive patterns over the off-season and so far it's paying dividends," says head coach Paul Terzis. "It was important that we reduced last season's average."

"Against Barrow I thought our defensive work was outstanding. They only had two line breaks in the entire game, one in the first half which came to nothing and one in the second which lead to their try. I don't know another time they threatened our line.

"Defensively we're only going to improve and any side who wants to throw it up against us, we're ready for it.

While Trezis acknowledges Leigh's defensive improvement he concedes that the attacking side of the Centurions' game needs some fine tuning.

"We could have hit Barrow with three or four more tries, but the final pass always went astray. That's an area we've got to work at. It's all in the timing and comes down to teamwork.

"We know that we've plenty of room for improvement but the most important thing was getting off to a winning start, especially at home. We've made Hilton Park something of a fortress and it's a record the players are very proud of."

Terzis adds: "The new players in the squad are bedding in well and I'm pleased with the contributions they've all made so far. It will take time to get things running smoothly but I can assure the fans that this team will get better and better as the weeks go by."