Murphy muses on ‘anti-Leigh’ agenda

Alex Murphy OBE has mooted the possibility that there is some kind of “hidden agenda” against Leigh Centurions, after player Ryan Brierley and coach Paul Rowley failed to pick up awards this season.

The Kingstone Press Championship and League 1 Awards Dinner was held in Manchester on Monday evening, and saw Richard Marshall of Halifax named as Championship Coach of the Year.

Bradford stand-off Lee Gaskell took home the prize of Championship Player of the Year.

Both Rowley and Brierley were nominated on shortlists for those two awards, but were passed over.

Murphy, a former Leigh player and coach, thinks that there might be something behind those snubs.

“Ifeel really sad for Leigh right now because they are a great and progressive club, and it looks to me if a number of obstacles are being placed in their way preventing them from being back in Super League,” he told the Manchester Evening News.

“If so, then this is wrong. It is not fair and it is not right and this is what I mean about a ‘hidden agenda’ theory.

“People are really starting to wonder if this is the case with what has been happening.

“Let’s face it, all hell would have broken out in football if this kind of thing had happened to say either Manchester United or Manchester City.

“Just imagine the reaction had they finished top and been told they still had to do more to progress.”

Murphy believes that the Centurions have done enough in recent times to justify a place in the game’s top tier in the UK.

“Leigh deserve their chance to be back in Super League,” he said.

“They would bring far more to the competition than so many other clubs. Wakefield should definitely have been demoted.

“They were very poor in the regular season but were then allowed to bring in a new coach and a host of new players just for the Middle 8s.”