Leigh Leopards tasted defeat in their pre-season clash with Warrington Wolves but even more costly was the injury toll they racked up.
Friday night’s game against Warrington was the Leopards’ only game of the pre-season and that saw Adrian Lam name a very deep bench on what was a close to full-strength starting XIII for Leigh.
Forwards Isaac Liu and Robbie Mulhern, the latter of whom is understood to have signed a deal with Castleford Tigers for 2027, both missed out, with Mulhern previously described as 50-50.
However, it was still a strong Leigh side that featured five new signings including new half Adam Cook but the Leopards lost it late on as Joe Philbin scored from a Ewan Irwin kick to make it 16-12.
More concerning than the scoreline was the injury round-up with two Leigh players potentially suffering HIAs as Joe Ofahengaue and new signing Liam Horne both left the field following heavy collisions.
If either man did fail a HIA then that would rule them out of next week’s Challenge Cup clash with North Wales Crusaders.
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Leigh Leopards’ injury cost assessed after Warrington loss
As well as Ofahengaue and Horne, there were concerns for Matt Davis and centre Umyla Hanley with the pair also forced off the pitch with apparent injury issues.
Davis looked to suffer an ankle injury whilst Hanley was left holding his arm and shoulder at one stage.
Both men, Hanley especially, will be key for Leigh this season with the centre having recently signed a new deal following his Super League Dream Team campaign in 2025.
Depth has been added at the position in the face that new signing Innes Senior can play the role whilst Leigh have also added to their pack through the likes of NRL recruit Jacob Alick-Wiencke and St Helens youngster Oliver Polec.
In respect to the game, Wire took an early lead through Toby King which they extended on the brink of half-time through Jake Thewlis. Andrew Badrock and Innes Senior scored in quick succession to put Leigh ahead before Joe Philbin scored his match-winner late on to end Warrington’s pre-season with two wins from two.
⏱️𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 at The Halliwell Jones.
🐺Wolves 16-12 Leopards 🐆 pic.twitter.com/4Qea6vl7Yl
— Leigh Leopards (@LeighLeopardsRL) January 30, 2026
