The wait was over, on a chilly evening in Wigan and the battle of the Borough between the Warriors and the Leopards heralded the start of the 2025 Super League season as the Champions took on former boss Adrian Lam’s much fancied Leopards.
The bookies had plumped for a convincing Wigan win and had handicapped the home side by a big sixteen points on the coupon as a large crowd filed in through the turnstiles, eager for the season to get underway.
Nothing would be decided today but local bragging rites were up for grabs, the Leopards looking to spring a surprise and get their season off to the best start, the Warriors looking to take up where they left off at the end of 2024.
Wigan had the best of the early pressure, forcing a drop-out and then going close in the right corner before Jake Wardle spilled the ball as he went to ground.
After absorbing the early pressure, the Leopards started making some headway themselves, the Warriors not having it all their own way. David Armstrong created a chance with a good break on seventeen but threw an interception pass picked off by Wardle.
It was a cut above the normal early-season fare from both sides with errors at a minimum and defences on top. Chances were few and far between in a game of high intensity, the sides going into the sheds for half time without once troubling the scorers.
An error under the high kick from Leigh gave Wigan possession twenty out from the sticks and as Liam Farrell chased a kick through, he swung a leg at the loose ball and in the view of the referee he delayed the kick-off and was shown a yellow card.
On the next play Jai Field looked to have taken advantage of a Leigh mistake and scored a wonder try, but the video referee ruled that the ball had been stripped in a two-man tackle by Liam Marshall and ruled out the four-pointer.
As the clock ticked past seventy both sides were still pointless and after two unsuccessful challenges, both had lost their inaugural Captains Challenge.
A couple of minutes form the final hooter it looked certain that the Leigh dam would burst but a Harry Smith kick to the corner was plucked out of the air by Lachlan Lam who was then dropped on late by Adam Keighran who was yellow carded for contact to the head with mitigation.
The first ever 0-0 full time scoreline in thirty years of Super League sent the sides into golden point extra time.
A ‘clock’ issue delayed the restart and added to the nerves for both sets of players.
Wigan had first use of the football but couldn’t make it count and on two minutes Gareth O’Brien kicked a thirty metre drop goal to win the match and send the Leigh fans into ecstasy.
A tremendous first game of the season with a little controversy, some technical issues, and a record 0-0 scoreline which was eventually won by Leigh with a golden point drop goal, a rare Leopards win in Wigan.
Wigan Warriors: Field, Eckersley, Keighran (SB on 79), Wardle, Marshall, French, Smith, Byrne, Leeming, Thompson, Nsemba, Farrell (SB on 53), Ellis. Subs: Mago, Dupree, Hill, Forber. 18th Man: Walters.
Leigh Leopards: Armstrong, Brand, Niu, Hanley, Charnley, O’Brien (DG), Lam, Trout, Dwyer, Mulhern, Halton, O’Neill, Liu. Subs: Hughes, Tuitavake, Davis, Ipape. 18th Man: Pene.
Half-Time: 0-0.
Full-Time: 0-0. Golden Point: 0-1.
Score Progression: 0-0 : HT: (SB), (SB), 0-0 :FT: 0-1 :GP.
Lead Exchanges: Leigh.
Referee: Liam Moore.
