Wigan Warriors player ratings v Leigh as attack misfires in golden point defeat

Wigan Warriors fell to an opening day defeat as Leigh Leopards snatched a 1-0 golden point win at the Brick Community Stadium.

Wigan huffed and puffed but they couldn’t break a rigid Leigh defensive line and in sudden death it was Gareth O’Brien’s drop goal that separated the two sides.

Here’s our Wigan Warriors ratings.

Jai Field: Had a try ruled out in the second half but largely struggled to find the openings he craves. 6

Zach Eckersley: Denied Tesi Niu a try in the second half with some superb edge defence and carried well. 7

Adam Keighran: Sin-binned late in the final moments of normal time for needless contact to the head. Defended well when he needed to. 6

Jake Wardle: Came close to scoring early in the contest and kept going without finding his reward. 7

Liam Marshall: Great work defensively to force a drop out early doors and while he didn’t see much in the way of good ball, he carried well and proved a useful presence. 7

Bevan French: Like Field, Leigh managed to keep French quiet. He had his moments to create but he wasn’t quite at his sparkling best. 6

Harry Smith: Kicked well, did the dirty work defensively and never stopped trying to probe. 7

Luke Thompson: Played most of the game through the middle of the park, with a brief stint in the second half being his only respite. A strong showing from the pack man. 8

Kruise Leeming: So lively around the ruck in the first half and looked to get the ball moving. 7

Liam Byrne: Carried well through the middle and found a tidy offload or two. 7

Junior Nsemba: Didn’t carry the threat he usually does as Leigh matched his physicality. 7

Liam Farrell: Sin binned for kicking the ball away in the second half in a rare lapse of discipline. 6

Kaide Ellis: Defensively strong and got his hands on the ball. 7

Tom Forber: Couldn’t find the opening off the bench in the second half. 6

Patrick Mago: Held back until late in the game but Leigh wrapped up him with relative ease. 6

Tyler Dupree: Carried a threat, kept himself busy defensively and came close to scoring. 7

Harvie Hill: Stronger defensively than he was with the ball in hand. 6

GARETH O’BRIEN 🥶🥶@LeighLeopardsRL win the season opener in dramatic circumstances 🔥#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/rQY6R92hGh

— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) February 13, 2025