Leigh Leopards delivered a killer blow to Wigan Warriors’ hopes of winning the League Leaders’ Shield as they won 18-8 at Leigh Sports Village.
Here’s our talking points.
A taste of play-off rugby
It was an intense, enthralling affair when Wigan and Leigh met in the opening round of the season and the two sides played out yet another thrilling contest at Leigh Sports Village. Fans of both clubs could be forgiven for watching through their fingers, while neutrals will have been engrossed with the action, which ebbed and flowed between the two sides.
Wigan were the better outfit in the first half, forcing errors with some brutal defending and taking advantage through a Jake Wardle try and an Adam Keighran penalty. However, the game swung in the second half as Leigh flexed their muscles, stepped up their tenacity, forced the Warriors back and found their attacking edge.
Tesi Niu pulled one back before a try of the season contender finished by Edwin Ipape and assisted by Umyla Hanley following offloads from Joe Ofahengaue, Ethan O’Neill and Keanan Brand put Leigh into a lead they refused to relinquish, with Owen Trout scoring late on to kickstart the party. Leigh were more than good value for the win, while Wigan, who defended well throughout, lacked the answers to the questions Adrian Lam’s side posed in the second half.
Wigan continue to stumble
In the last four weeks Wigan have been someway short of their best and they’ve paid the price for it in the league table. The Warriors needed last minute tries to overcome Huddersfield Giants and Castleford Tigers but they weren’t as fortunate against Wakefield Trinity and Leigh had too much for them again on Friday.
It means that if Hull KR can beat Leeds Rhinos on Sunday afternoon, they can move six points clear at the top of the table. And, with 10 games to go, that could be enough in the battle for the League Leaders’ Shield.
Huge Leigh injury blow
Lam was waiting for David Armstrong’s scan results to come back when he spoke to the press on Thursday and the full-back was optimistically named in the 21-man squad.
However, the news came through on Sky Sports before the game that Armstrong would be ruled out for the season and Lam confirmed that when speaking to the broadcaster. That’s a huge blow for the Leopards in the race for the play-offs, but Bailey Hodgson did a superb job stepping into the fold in the Australian’s absence.
The prognosis suggested by Sky was nine months and that could even see him miss the start of next season.
Wade set for struggle
Christian Wade was named in the 21-man squad this week but he never played and with Abbas Miski returning from injury, it’s hard to see how he finds his way into the starting XIII at present.
Wade is yet to make a first-team appearance for the Cherry and Whites and with the business end of the season approaching, he’s running out of opportunities.
It should be said that Liam Marshall was clearly not at 100 per cent against Leigh after struggling with his own issues of late and that was evident when he made an interception in the first half. But, if he’s fit enough, he’ll play and that won’t help Wade’s chances.
Charnley makes point
Charnley played like a man with a point to prove and he certainly made it on his return to the Leigh fold. He’s been out of favour of late and there have been suggestions that he could be allowed to leave the Leopards on loan.
That won’t be the case now though following the injury to Darnell McIntosh which gave Charnley the opportunity to return to the starting fold and he certainly made the most of it. He made three notable tackles in the first half on Miski, Marshall and Jai Field with the latter forcing a drop out.
He carried well, too, with the winger bursting away in the first half and making the hard yards when his team needed it.
⏱️ 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘
LEOPARDS ARE MASSIVE! pic.twitter.com/X5kZl3UzxL
— Leigh Leopards (@LeighLeopardsRL) July 4, 2025
