Both players are now expected to join Super League side Halifax Blue Sox after an independent arbitration panel ruled in their favour.

It is understood that Leigh have until the end of today (Friday) to strike a negotiated settlement figure with Halifax or the players will be declared free agents.

But Leigh are unlikely to let the matter rest there and are taking further legal advice.

The transfer saga has dragged on since the end of last season when both players opted to exercise 'get out' clauses in their contracts.

Under the terms of their contracts the players spoke to Halifax and a provisional agreement was reached. But Leigh demanded compensation for two of the brightest young stars they've discovered in the last decade and that led to an impasse.

At the four-hour showdown in Leeds, the Leigh representatives argued that they were in the right to demand fees for the pair. The players countered that Leigh's stance was prohibitive.

Leigh's head coach Paul Terzis has taken the double blow on the chin but has promised that the club will quickly recover from the double blow.

"To be honest I've been resigned to losing Stuart and Mickey for quite some time and I've been preparing the squad with that in mind," he says.

"I thought there was a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel with regard to Mickey, but that light's now been turned off.

"But what's happened his history now and it's the turn of another page in the history of Leigh Centurions. The only downside is the problem of recompense. Stuart and Mickey look like they've fulfilled their dream to play in Super League. But I'm sure they'd rather have done it with us had they been a little more patient. I've never been a coach to hold back ambitious players but we're an ambitious club and I would have loved us to progress together."

But Terzis has recruited shrewdly throughout the off-season and with the likes of Simon Svabic, Willie Swann, John Duffy and Martin Roden among the new recruits, the full-back and hooking roles are adequately covered.

"Even with the loss of Heath Cruckshank, Donlan and Higham, this is the strongest squad the Leigh club has had in many years," adds Terzis.