Thanks go to Dave Parkinson for this superb article from the recent Leigh away game.

Todays visiting star is Phil Cantillon, a quickfire hooker who is now in his second season with Rochdale Hornets, his 8th professional club in total.

Throughout his career Phil has used his explosive pace off the mark to trouble sides and in many ways is the perfect foil to the clever Dave McConnell.

Phil started his career at Central Park with Wigan and learned plenty from incumbent hookers Martin Dermott and Martin Hall. Despite becoming a regular in the clubs alliance ranks and earning a spot in the Great Britain Academy side (ahead of a certain Paul Rowley), Cantillon was never handed a first team opportunity. During the short close season between 1994-95 and the games Centenary campaign, ambitious Keighley tabled a bid for the young rake and Cantillon joined the Cougarmania.

He made his first team debut during the Centenary season and had played 17 games by the time things drew to a close in preparation of the big switch to summer.

At that time Keighley were a well supported side that regularly drew 4,000 plus gates and Cantillon revelled in that cauldron of an atmosphere, playing a big part alongside favourites such as Nick Pinkney and Jason Ramshaw.

Unfortunately for Keighley, the fall-out from being denied promotion in 1994-95 bit hard and came to the fore in 1997. Leeds Rhinos proved a major beneficiary, signing Darryl Powell, Cantillon and Darren Fleary with the Cougars on their knees.

Before SuperLeague II was out, Cantillon had appeared three times for the Rhinos, ironically scoring a try at Central Park during a 38-22 play-off defeat.

1998 saw Cantillon emerge as something of a loan ranger. Early in the season he was farmed out from Leeds to Bramley for a three-game stint, then he moved to Cumbria and played 7 games with Whitehaven; scoring a try during an impressive 48-14 home win over Widnes.

If Phil's career had been a little stop-start to date, it really settled down in 1999. During the close season Cantillon made a permanent move from Headingley to the Halton Stadium and quickly became a firm favourite with the Widnes fans who appreciated his quick sniping runs behind an improving pack.

He scored his first try in the black and white during a pulsating 20-17 home win over Leigh in the Challenge Cup and by the end of the season had scored 14 from 34 appearances.

A personal highlight for Phil during the 1999 season was a five try haul in an 84-0 hammering of Oldham.

2000 brought more tries for Cantillon - 30 in 31 games to be precise and the hooker scored four in a 76-8 beating of amateurs West Hull in the Challenge Cup. A hat-trick followed in a 50-18 win at York and Cantillon was amongst Widnes best during a 42-24 defeat at Dewsbury; scoring two tries.

As the grounds firmed up, Phil hit a rich vein of form, scoring 8 tries in two games. A further hat-trick came at Hunslet and the hooker picked up another quintet of touchdowns during a routine 38-10 win over Rochdale. At the Halton Stadium Cantillon was a formidable force and nabbed another hat-trick against Workington before Widnes ducked out during the play-off stages.

In 2001 Cantillon set a new record for tries in a season by a forward, eclipsing Ellery Hanley from the record books. Much was expected from Widnes following a close season recruitment drive and Cantillon scored tries in close wins against Rochdale (24-14), Workington (26-16) and Swinton (16-8). As Challenge Cup football dawned Cantillon once more displayed his finishing with 4 tries against Wigan St Patricks.

These were certainly halcyon days for Phil and he set a club record for most tries in a game; scoring 7 in a 90-6 victory over York in February 2001. It is a mark that still stands for the Cheshire club today and looks unlikely to be beaten this season.

Cantillon plundered four tries in a 72-4 home win over Gateshead and the season got better and better as the Vikings built momentum that carried them through to the grand final. Phil scored 5 tries during a 62-0 away success at Swinton, 2 in the next away game at Batley before successive hat-tricks against Chorley and York took him past Hanley's mark.

A Grand Final try was just rewards for a superb effort and Phil played a full part in the Vikings 24-14 success over Oldham.

As reward, Widnes coach Neil Kelly signed Cantillon as the clubs hooker in Super League and Cantillon did not disappoint, scoring 12 tries in 28 games to help guide the Vikings to safety in their first season. Unfortunately for Phil, Kelly brought Australian Shane Millard to the club and this all but ended Cantillon's role as number one hooker. Despite this, Phil forged a name for himself as a dynamic substitute and his appearances seemed to visibly lift fans and team mates alike.

Cantillon opened the season with a try in a 48-6 cup win over Kelly's former club Dewsbury and the Vikings marched to the quarter finals only for Bradford's greater size and power deny a semi-final spot.

Phil later scored a notable try double that helped the Vikings secure a 30-30 draw at promoted Huddersfield and when it became common knowledge that Widnes were not retaining him, Cantillon earned much credit for his professionalism.

He signed off his Widnes career with an excellent performance that brought two tries before the Sky cameras in a 48-20 win over Halifax at the Shay. His spell at the Halton Stadium saw Cantillon make 152 appearances and score a magnificent 115 tries.

Ironically, the Shay became his next destination and Cantillon spent 2004 with the Halifax club during a time of change and rebuilding. He scored 9 tries in 26 games for Halifax but it was his performances at international level with Ireland that caught the eye.

During the close seasons European Championships, Cantillon rediscovered his try scoring. Ireland trailed 10-3 at half-time to Scotland before an inspired second half yielded four tries for Cantillon and 7 for his side. The turnaround guaranteed a superb 43-10 victory that helped the Irish grab a place in the final, but luck ran out when England won at Warrington.

Phil joined Rochdale in 2005 and showed during the latter stage so of the season that he had lost none of his electric pace and quick thinking. One particular performance proved a match winner at Doncaster when his appearance from the bench tipped the game in Hornets favour. There is no doubt that Leigh will have to be on guard this afternoon to prevent Cantillon and Rochdale from winning in Darren Abram's return to the Coliseum.