IT’S fair to say if one Super League side has taken the sport by storm in the past six months or so then it has been Leigh.
Formerly the ‘Centurions’, owner Derek Beaumont rebranded the Leigh club to ‘Leopards’ in a bold move towards the back end of 2022.
Since then, Beaumont and the rest of Leigh have embraced, built upon and drove home the brand and it is still one of the most talked about features of rugby league.
The change itself has been deemed as “unbelievable” by head coach Adrian Lam, who has been responsible for coaching Leigh to Super League in 2023 and then two wins from the club’s opening five games.
“The branding name change has been unbelievable for our town and club,” Lam said.
“It’s been picked up on really quickly. Even when you talk about leopards, look at the entertainment, in the first quarter of the season, we have only had two home games from six.
“We have a lot of home games to come back to but what we have had here is down to Derek Beaumont making this stadium an event to come to. I haven’t seen it like this at any stadium in Super League. A lot of credit needs to be given to Derek.”
Lam was also keen to stress that the feel-good factor around the town has dripped down to the squad.
“We select good players and good people to play for us. There is that buzz within the group and we are working hard to make sure we keep our standards high on and off the field.
“We are doing promotional stuff around town and around schools and where we can to promote our games. Everyone has bought in.”
