Adrian Lam’s new look Leigh Leopards did the simple things remarkably well as they claimed a 1-0 golden point victory over Wigan Warriors. That’s the message from Sky Sports pundit Jon Wilkin, who lauded the way Leigh pulled together to keep the champions at bay and get the win through Gareth O’Brien’s drop goal.
The Leopards had five new signings in action at the Brick Community Stadium, with David Armstrong, Ethan O’Neill, Tesi Niu and Isaac Liu getting the start, while Alec Tuitavake came off the bench. They all had a role to play in getting the Leopards off the mark too, combining with their new teammates to get the job done.
In fact, it was Armstrong’s break in golden point that laid the platform for O’Brien to slot the decisive one-pointer, with Leigh overcoming the pre-match odds to hand last season’s quadruple winners an opening day defeat. Wigan turned in a strong performance on the night, but it wasn’t enough to unlock the resilient Leopards and it’s fair to say Wilkin was impressed.
“They’ve done really well, recruited well and replaced some key players,” he said while analysing the fixture. “I’ll tell you what the players they’ve brought in did really well, you can get complicated and not quite click in terms of structure and shape and organisation.
“What’s really simple is working hard for the guy next to you and they got that right for 84 minutes, that’s remarkable for new players to come in and just commit to a group like that.”
On Leigh Leopards’ decisive moment, Wilkin added: “As I said about not rushing into a position where you’re trying to kick a golden point, the set up is so important. What I love about the play is the patience and composure from Lachlan Lam just to know that he can use David Armstrong’s speed and running style to generate some ruck speed.
“It’s a massive play, the composure and game awareness from Lam to put that on allows Gareth O’Brien to have a fraction of a second look and Harry Smith nearly gets him. If that Armstrong carry isn’t quite as effective, O’Brien doesn’t get that away. That’s the detail.”
UNBELIEVABLE, WHAT A MOMENT! 🤯
Gareth O’brien kicks it in to give Leigh Leopards the WIN IN GOLDEN POINT! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/cyLEHfAXcz
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) February 13, 2025
