Preview: Leigh v Barrow

Tyrone McCarthy could make his Leigh debut in Thursday’s Sky Sports televised Co-operative Championship opener between the Centurions and last year’s champions Barrow.

Leigh assistant coach Paul Rowley said: “There won’t be many changes from our last game. We’ve got selection headaches and we’re spoilt for choice at the moment.”

He added: “Our confidence is high and our preparation has been spot on, but the challenge is to back that up and gain some consistency.

“We’re coming up against a team that had a very successful year and we’re excited by the challenge. We believe we’re a big club in this division. We’re very confident and everyone’s excited about the season ahead.”

James Coyle and Liam Campbell could both return for Steve McCormack’s first league fixture in charge of the Raiders.

McCormack said: “I’d have liked to have won all three of our Northern Rail Cup games but we’ve shown promise and we’ve improved with each game we’ve played.

“However, we’re also aware that there’s a lot more improvement needed before we get as good as we can be.”