Wigan Warriors star picks positives from tough Leigh Leopards defeat

Wigan Warriors man Kaide Ellis has picked the positives out of the club’s 1-0 golden point loss to Leigh Leopards in the Super League season opener.

The Super League season opener was dramatic, even if it was lacking in points, with Wigan and Leigh playing out the first scoreless 80 minutes in Super League history before the Leopards won it in golden point.

That 1-0 scoreline was also a Super League first with Gareth O’Brien adding another famous drop goal to his CV, breaking Wigan hearts with over 21,000 watching the Warriors’ season opener.

Both teams were dominant defensively with very few scoring chances created, however, the intensity was that of a Grand Final with mistakes limited – highlighting what a strong pre-season both teams will have had.

Wigan Warriors’ loose forward Kaide Ellis was one of those who put in a huge shift with the number 13 making an impressive 49 tackles and carrying the ball into contact 19 times.

“It was a tough first game as we expected,” Ellis explained to club media.

He added: “It’s never nice to lose but there’s a lot to be positive about. When we dig deeper into the game there will be good signs.”

Among the obvious positives was the defence with Wigan now having not conceded a try in Super League for over seven hours.

Ellis referenced that and the team’s resilience when down to 12, stating: “We showed a lot of good defensive attitude. Our contact and scramble was hard, especially when down to 12-men, which is a positive we must take.

“We didn’t concede a try, but Leigh made strong field position in extra-time and managed to get the kick over.””We knew it was going to be tough against a Leigh side who’ve had a long, tough, pre-season and signed well. We spoke before the game about how it’d take 60,70,80 minutes if we were to get the job done, but in the end it wasn’t to be.”

With a Round One record crowd of 21,748 turning up, Ellis hailed the club’s efforts to sell the game, which included roping in Las Vegas legend Michael Buffer to utter his famous saying and kick the game off.

Ellis said: “It was a massive positive for Round 1. All the Vegas build up pre-match with Michael Buffer was cool, and having someone like him working on our sport is good for the game.”