Leigh stalwart John Duffy believes the Centurions can bounce back from defeat against Featherstone Rovers to secure their place in the Co-operative Championship Grand Final by beating Sheffield Eagles in a crucial play-off on Thursday September 20 (7.30pm) at Leigh Sports Village.

Leigh fell to a 32-14 defeat to Featherstone but have the luxury of having a second opportunity to book their place in the final and having crashed out of the competition at the same stage against Sheffield last season, Duffy is confident there won’t be a repeat result this week.

“After the disappointment of last week, we’re keen to put in a big performance this week against Sheffield,” said Duffy. “We put that defeat to bed early over the weekend so we could focus on this match and we’re all eyes on Sheffield now and I’m really excited for the game.

“We have had a small squad this season and we’re been taking things round-by-round and not looking too far ahead so we can’t look past Thursday.

“We’ve done well to get to this stage of the season but we have a lot of very talented players in the side so we won’t be satisfied with not going any further and we’re raring to go.”

The Eagles booked their place in Thursday’s elimination play-off after an impressive 54-12 win over Halifax and Duffy knows that the Centurions can’t take anything for granted ahead of their televised clash.

“Sheffield are a top side and they’re in great form currently,” he said. “They’re hard to beat on form and they have a great coach at the helm who seems to get them playing their best at the right time.

“They’re strong all over the pitch and are dangerous, but we have some great strike players in our squad as well.

“We’ve very confident we can get the win, we’re still in good form and Thursday’s a game we’re all relishing.”

Tickets for the Co-operative Championship play-off between Leigh Centurions and Sheffield Eagles at the Leigh Sports Village on Thursday September 20 (7.30pm) are priced from £16 adult, £5 concession and £1 juniors and can be purchased through the stadium ticket office.

Tickets to the Co-operative Championships Finals Day on Sunday September 30 at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington cost from just £16 adult, £8 concessions and can be purchased by calling the RFL Ticket office on 0844 856 1113 or by visiting www.rugbyleaguetickets.co.uk