By Connor Mckeown
Super League started off with a bang – and I’m not referring to the fireworks display before the kick off! Despite the game finishing 0-0 in full time, it was an absolute classic. The two couldn’t be separated until the first half of Golden Point, with Gareth O’Brien kicking the winning drop-goal.
Tryless 80 minutes sees 2 Wigan yellow cards, with Liam Farrell and Adam Keighran both being sin binned.
With Bruce Buffer starting the new season off with his iconic ‘let’s get ready to rumble’, the opening ten were exactly what you should expect from local rivals: fierce. Wigan nearly drew first blood, with Jake Wardle crashing over the line, but losing the ball in the process – it was a massive let off for the Leopards.
14 minutes in and Wigan went close again. A Jai Field line break caused havoc for the Leigh defence, leaving them vulnerable and flustered. The ball was shifted right by Wigan, with Adam Keighran with a half break on the right side, looking for support, but nobody was there – strange for Wigan. But the threat was not over, with Harry Smith dabbing a kick through for Luke Thompson, but he couldn’t get the ball down before it found the dead ball line.
But 18 minutes gone and this time it was Leigh. With the side fielding five new signings tonight, one was bound to take centre stage – and it looked like it was going to be former Newcastle Knight David Armstrong. Armstrong broke on the right of the Wigan defence with Keanan Brand in support, but the fullback couldn’t loop it over Wardle, who diffused the situation.
Really good first 20 from the two, but champions Wigan would have been happier with theirs – it’s good to have Super League back!
Three big shots inside two minutes and the game was well and truly alive. Edwin Ipape started it off with a huge tackle on Field and, when Wigan looked to be on the ropes, Brand received a big shot from Liam Marshall to remind the travellers who’s house it was. But the fun wasn’t over, as Junior Nsemba was put on his backside by two Leigh defenders. Brilliant start to the Battle of the Borough.
Wigan went close again after 33 minutes of play, but some strong defending from the Leopards thwarted the Warriors attack – a try was what the game needed, and both have had their chances.
The half closed out and I think both needed the breather, the intensity was impeccable.
The game resumed with the Leopards having the ball in hand, but it wasn’t long before the Warriors tried to unsettle, and they did. Unfortunately for them, referee Liam Moore deemed it as a ball steal – but Wigan opted to use their one and only Captain’s Challenge, which is new to Super League this year. But Wigan wasted their challenge and the TMO referee agreed with the on-field decision.
Just the two flashpoints in the first 10 minutes of the second half. The first came from magic man Bevan French, who tried his luck with a chip and chase, with him going close to winning the ball back. But Leigh have themselves a player in David Armstrong – top performance this evening. The second came from Field, breaking through the Leigh defence on the left, but despite having Wardle to his left, he opted to go alone and was nicely wrapped up by Lachlan Lam, who has been everywhere tonight.
But the game was well and truly underway now, with a controversial Liam Farrell yellow card. With a kick being dabbed in behind the Leopards defence, Farrell felt he had been blocked. But regardless of the situation, a furious red Farrell kicked the ball into the stands, leaving the ref no choice but to send him for 10.
Then, bizarrely, it was Wigan who looked to have scored first. Despite being a man down, Wigan looked to have tackled the ball loose from Ipape’s clutches, before Field took it and burst through the Leopards defence and travelled half the pitch. However, Moore brought it back for the tackle on Ipape, with it being deemed as a ball steal. Exciting times – a try had to be close.
Leigh’s new man, Tesi Nui, looked like he could have trotted into the Wigan corner just before the hour mark, but the strong Wigan defence bolstered him into the stands. Zach Eckersley a stalwart. Wigan looked as strong defensively with 12 men as they did with 13. Leigh had no chance.
And as the clock hits 69, that takes Wigan to 7 hours of not conceding a try. Seven hours. Unbelievable stuff for Matt Peat’s side.
Make that two unsuccessful Captain’s Challenges. Brad Dwyer is aggrieved after what looked like a ball steal, but again, the TMO agreed with the on-field decision of a knock on. This game is somehow still 0-0 after 72 minutes. This will be the first of the Super League era and we’ll be going to Golden Point.
Massive, massive play from Lam. That is huge for Leigh. Smith, off the back of what was a dangerous Wigan attack, chipped the ball over to French, but Lachlan Lam leaps into action – literally. But after the fantastic claim, Keighran smashes into Lam on the floor, where the game reached melting point, with Kaide Ellis having two Leopards in his clutches. Keighran earned himself what could be a costly yellow card.
Golden point: here we come.
Hilariously, despite everyone chomping at the bit to get the game underway, the time keeping system has gone down! Hilariously, after 10 minutes of waiting around, the game is going to be finished without a visible clock.
The first flash of excitement came in the left corner of the field, with Marshall nicking the ball from Brand and then a hot potato panic ensued, before Umyla Handley reclaimed the ball.
And just like that, history is made on the opening night of 2025’s Super League season, with Leigh Leopards defeating the Wigan Warriors away from home for the first time in 46 years, doing so with a historical drop-goal from Gareth O’Brien, taking the points with a 0-1 scoreline. Unbelivable finish to what was an unbelievable game.