Higham Comes Home! : Wed May 20, 2015 11:33 am
Leigh Centurions are delighted to confirm that they have agreed terms with Warrington Wolves and hooker Mick Higham has re-joined the Club with immediate effect.The transfer fee involved is £50,000 which is a record Club fee for the summer era. Higham is contracted to Leigh Centurions until November 2016 with an option at the Club’s discretion for 2017.
Higham, 34, is in contention to make his Centurions second debut in the Kingstone Press Championship Summer Bash game against Featherstone Rovers at Bloomfield Road next Sunday (5-15pm).
Leigh Centurions Head of Rugby Derek Beaumont said: “I am absolutely delighted to have Mickey on board. It is no secret I am fully committed to doing what is necessary to build this club into a competitive Super League club.
"Mickey's performances this year for Warrington have been solid and he has been their starting nine, playing in every game and keeping current Man of Steel Daryl Clark behind him.
"It was no secret Mickey wanted to finish his career where it all began at his home town club and now the stage to his fairytale ending has been set. Having Penk (Sean Penkywicz) out with a serious injury that gets an operation on Tuesday seriously dented our plans. He was absolutely killing it and we had just extended his contract.
"Whilst Bob Beswick has been absolutely outstanding for 80 minutes per game, particularly against Salford and Wakefield it is not only unfair to expect him to continually perform like that but unrealistic when it comes to the middle 8s."
Mr Beaumont continued: "Whilst we have just extended Lewis Foster's contract and believe he is a player for the future I, Rolls (Paul Rowley) and the coaching team all agreed we needed a top quality player right now. Mickey in my opinion is still performing as the best nine in Super League and this is a massive coup for us. He is a great player with a proven track record and is yet another player with international experience. He is a very fit individual and a good person that fits within our culture.
"Whilst all the lads are gutted about Penks position they are all supportive of Mickey's arrival and are looking forward with excitement to working with him. If I would have said last season we could start at the Summer Bash with a front row of Moimoi, Higham and Hock people would have thought I was mad! It is a great time to be a Leigh fan and it is worth noting that it is the fans' growing support that gives me the confidence to continue to significantly invest in our team, so in many ways this signing is down to them.
"Whilst I am unhappy with some premature and incorrect comments made by Tony Smith and Richard Agar which I will not go into here, I would like to thank Simon Moran for his professionalism and for allowing the deal to take place. I know it has been a difficult situation for him that he didn't want to happen but in the end everything happens for a reason and I am sure the nines they were set on for next year will step up and do the job from now. I wish Simon and his Warrington team every success in the season except of course when we meet in the Challenge Cup."
Leigh Centurions Head Coach Paul Rowley said: "In our continued efforts for success and the ongoing injury worries to Penky it was important that we remained strong in the hooking role and the signing of Mickey is another boost for us at this crucial time.
"We are truly blessed already having our vice captain Bob Beswick and our youngster Lewis Foster on board so to add Mickey to this gives me an embarrassment of riches to chose from.
"Mickey will provide quality on the field but will also continue to enhance our off-field culture and I welcome Mickey and his family to the club and look forward to him making his second Leigh debut."
After signing for his home-town club as a teenager from Leigh Miners, Higham made his first-team debut against Barrow on 14 Feb 1999, earning Heritage Number 1153. In his first season he scored two tries in 10 appearances. He really came to the fore in the following season, scoring 22 tries in 32 Leigh games. His sparkling individual performance, capped by two tries, earning the Man of the Match Award as Paul Terzis’s side suffered a heartbreaking 13-12 defeat at the hands of Dewsbury Rams in the 2000 Northern Ford Premiership Grand Final.
That pivotal game proved to be Higham’s last in a Leigh jersey and he then embarked on a fine career at the top level playing with distinction for St Helens between 2001 and 2005, Wigan Warriors between 2006 and 2008 and Warrington Wolves from 2009.
Higham scored 35 tries in 116 games for Saints and was a member of their Grand Final winning side in 2002 when Saints defeated Bradford Bulls 19-18 at Old Trafford. Earlier that year he had been a member of the Saints side defeated 21-12 by Wigan in the Challenge Cup Final at Murrayfield.
During three seasons at Wigan Higham scored 17 tries in 97 games and for Warrington he has scored 37 tries in 175 games. His overall record at club level reads 113 tries in 430 games.
Higham appeared for the Wolves in three victorious Challenge Cup Finals at Wembley, defeating Huddersfield 25-12 in 2009, Leeds 30-6 in 2010 and Leeds again 35-18 in 2012. He was also a member of the Wolves side defeated by Leeds in the 2012 Super League Grand Final and again by Wigan one year later.
Higham also joined the select group of Leigh born players to represent Great Britain when he made his debut against New Zealand at Hull in the 2004 Tri-Nations and made three further appearances in the 2005 Tri-Nations series before touring down under with the GB party in 2006 and playing a tour game against Newcastle.
He has also represented Super League Under-21s, England Under-21s, England A and England and has scored two tries in 17 representative appearances.
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