LEIGH Centurions' entire season depends on one night's work on Saturday writes Mike Hulme.

Standing in their way at Widnes' Halton Stadium are red-hot Grand Final favourites Huddersfield Giants - the team who have comprehensively beaten the Centurions twice this season and who have gone through the entire NFP campaign unbeaten so far.

Despite the odds Leigh coach Paul Terzis remains extremely confident that his side has the ability to upset the Giants and claim a place in the game's elite division.

"I've chosen 17 players who I firmly believe can win us this game," he said. "That's the bottom line and what it's all about."

"The squad was announced to the players on Monday night. There was a lot of agony and a lot of ecstasy.

"It's been hard selecting a 17-man squad for the Final because we've been a tightly-knit bunch all year. Those that don't play on Saturday night can rest in the knowledge that they've all made massive contributions to what we've achieved."

Leigh will have over 4,000 fans cheering them on at the Halton Stadium.

The club's allocation of 3,000 tickets were expected to sell out but the club managed an additional allocation of 500 from the RFL to go on open sale.

In addition 400 Leigh fans have bought their tickets directly from the RFL and 200 more from Widnes, the host club.

By yesterday Huddersfield had sold 2,800 and returned 500 to the League.

Terzis has confirmed that powerhouse prop Vila Matautia will be in the 17 after completing a two-match suspension for what will probably his final game before retirement.

"Vila was brought to this club to help us into Super League and he'll get that chance on Saturday night," the coach said.

Leigh's build-up to the big game has been a fairly relaxed affair with the team having the day off on Tuesday before stepping up their preparations from Wednesday and leaving to go into camp at a secret Cheshire location on Thursday.

"Going away for a couple of days gives us the chance to prepare fully, both physically and mentally," Terzis adds.

He went on: "We accept that we'll be going into the game as underdogs but that doesn't faze us particularly. We're determined to go out there on Saturday and show the nation what this club is all about.

"It's all down to who performs for the 80 minutes on the field, not what they might have done so far and no matter how confident they may be."

Joint skipper Adam Bristow admits a lot is riding on Saturday's result. "From a personal point of view I want to play in Super League and would like to do it with Leigh. A lot of other players are in the same position and we're fully committed to making the most of the opportunity we've earned," he says.

Super League whistler Karl Kirkpatrick is Saturday's referee with the match being beamed live on Sky Sports 1 from 6pm. The big screen and video referee will be in operation.

Win or lose Leigh are planning a big homecoming. The Mick Martyn Bar will be open after the match to welcome the players back to Hilton Park but on Sunday the club has organised a fun day with bouncy castles, a disco and other entertainment. The doors open at noon with the players in attendance from 1pm.

Both clubs face inspections from officials this week to determine whether they will gain promotion to Super League if they win Saturday's final. Neither club anticipate problems on that score and an official announcement is expected from League HQ before Saturday.