Kieron Purtill’s Centenary Milestone: Where Are They Now?

The Challenging Start for Leigh Centurions

Before Kieron Purtill’s current club Leopards even existed, the Leigh outfit he represented encountered a challenging start to their maiden Super League campaign in 2005. A dismal season that saw them win just twice began with a 30-12 defeat to Huddersfield Giants on February 12.

In front of 4,043 fans, the Centurions struggled as the Giants raced into a 30-2 lead through tries from Stanley Gene, Stuart Jones, Sean Penkywicz, and Paul White, with Chris Thorman adding seven goals. Leigh’s Neil Turley and John Wilshere managed late consolation scores, but the damage was done.

The Paths of Kieron Purtill’s Former Teammates

The sides met again in Round 1 this season, with Huddersfield once more emerging victorious from Leigh Sports Village. As we look ahead to their latest clash at the John Smith’s Stadium this weekend, we examine where Kieron Purtill’s former Centurions teammates are now.

• Neil Turley, the full-back who scored Leigh’s first-ever Super League points, retired in 2006 due to injury but remains involved in the game as an RFL ‘side member’.
• John Wilshere, a PNG international, hung up his boots in 2009 and now works as the ‘PNG Area Manager’ for a Mining Services Group.
• Phil Jones, who had a dual-code career, couldn’t be traced.
• Ben Cooper is now the Head of Strength & Conditioning at Wakefield Trinity.
• Rob Smyth, a five-time Ireland international, works in the construction industry.
• Jason Kent, the Australian sin-binned on debut, couldn’t be located.
• John Duffy, a 12-time Scotland international, has enjoyed coaching stints with Swinton, Featherstone, and Scotland, and is now with Wigan overseeing youth development.
• Richard Moore, forced to retire in 2019 due to injury, regularly fishes in France.
• Paul Rowley, the current Salford Red Devils head coach, is a Leigh legend.

Other Notable Names

Other notable names include Cumbrian duo Steve McCurrie and Oli Wilkes, the latter of whom admitted to doping during his career, as well as Kiwi Mark Leafa, now a qualified performance coach in Brisbane, and Jason Ferris, who is the head coach of the Tahmoor Roosters in Australia.

The squad was led by Darren Abram, who was relieved of his duties in August 2005 but has since held various assistant roles, and they faced a Huddersfield side featuring the likes of Stuart Donlan, Hefin O’Hare, and Eorl Crabtree under the guidance of head coach Jon Sharp.

🔗 Source