POSTERS have gone up around Bradford in recent weeks to advertise Sunday’s visit of Leigh.

The words ‘Pride, Honour, Passion’ accompany an image of Adam O’Brien and Adrian Purtell celebrating a try at the Leigh Sports Village in February.

Fair play to the Bulls for that.

Their advert bills the game as ‘The Battle for the Championship’.

But it’s not really is it?

Not after last Sunday’s defeat at Sheffield Eagles; not when Leigh are two points clear with a game in hand.

Paul Rowley’s men could lose at Odsal on Sunday and still finish top with something to spare.

They boast a far superior points difference over the Bulls and look certain to end the regular season at the summit.

Fair play to Leigh for that.

They have been virtually unstoppable this season, as they were last year, as they bid to secure promotion to Super League.

But regardless of who finishes top, this weekend’s encounter should be an intriguing battle between the division’s premier sides.

If there was one team that Bradford would not want to lose to in their final home game, it would be Leigh.

It seemed pretty obvious at the start of the year that it would be the Bulls and Centurions in the top two come the end of the 23 regular rounds.

That has proven the case and, while the leadership of the division may now be a foregone conclusion, both teams have plenty to play for this weekend.

After all, this is Bradford v Leigh, a fixture to increase the heartbeat, especially given the tumultuous season-opener at the Leigh Sports Village.

It is a matter of pride and there is no mistaking the rivalry which has developed between the clubs since that clash back in February.

The Bulls will not want to suffer the indignity of losing to Leigh for a second time this season.

For a start, it would allow Rowley’s men to wrap up top spot.

Secondly, a party will be held on the pitch for Bulls supporters after the game.

There will be little bonhomie in the air if Leigh have marched home as victors.

After two defeats to part-time opposition in the past three games, the onus is on Bradford to make a marked improvement and find the right response to last weekend’s Sheffield defeat.

Lee Gaskell and Jake Mullaney will be missing on Sunday along with one or two other key players, so the Bulls will not be showing their full hand, as it were.

Nevertheless, with the Super Eights coming into focus, they need to start winning again.

Momentum can be a priceless asset in sport.

Confidence snowballs and positive sequences of result follow, as Leigh know only too well.

There is much to admire in what Rowley and his players have achieved, not only this season but in the past few years.

His men dominated the Championship last year, racking up 23 wins from 24 regular-season games before beating Featherstone in the Grand Final at Headingley.

They have been no less formidable this term, dumping Salford and Wakefield out of the Challenge Cup after laying down an emphatic marker with their second-half performance against Bradford in round one.

There has been an energy about Leigh, a structure which allows their pacey outside backs to score a lot of points in quick succession during games.

Martyn Ridyard and Ryan Brierley have been pivotal in the halves but it is clear when watching Leigh that they are very much about the collective.

They have a settled side which has showed no signs of slowing down during the regular season.

Rowley will hope they can maintain their winning momentum in the all-important Super Eights, when these two sides will meet again.

Sunday’s match may not have too much at stake in terms of winning promotion but, if the round-one clash is anything to go by, we should still be in for a treat.