When Leigh announced their host of signing going in Super League in 2023 including signings from Leeds Rhinos, Huddersfield Giants and St Helens, the thunder was stolen by the decision to rebrand.
The Centurions became the Leigh Leopards for 2023 and moving forward in a move which sparked plenty of discussion and divided opinion.
Leigh have been open to change even releasing a re-designed home shirt after complaints over the lack of the red on the original.
Now though the Leopards have revealed the reason for their rebrand and Wigan Warriors played a big role in their thinking.
The Leopards even titled this as “a decision to step out of the shadow, a step forward into the future.”
On Twitter the club said: “As we moved forward to Super League status, the submission of our application would always have an element of comparison with our borough rivals Wigan…
“Two teams with over 100 years history, in the same borough, both wearing cherry & white hoops, both crests depicting gladiator style icons with a fighting spirit.
“To give ourselves an opportunity to forge a unique identity, a rebrand was decided to allow us to build a new look, new vision and evolve into a club everyone can identify.
“The decision to move the look of the brand forward, whilst still respecting our history, has been a well planned, well thought through process.
“We hope you’ll agree, the club badge now stands out from the crowd and gives our club a distinct and unique identity that cannot be mistaken.”