LEIGH owner Derek Beaumont says Chris Chester’s contribution to the club’s progress over the last three years can’t be overemphasised.
And he’s backing the Leopards’ head of rugby to help keep Adrian Lam’s side – who kick-started their 2025 Super League campaign with Thursday’s dramatic 1-0 golden-point win at arch-rivals Wigan – right up among the contenders.
Beaumont brought in former Hull KR and Wakefield coach Chester in the wake of relegation from Super League in 2021.
That was the third time Leigh had lasted just a season in the top flight, with Beaumont determined to buck that trend.
He tasked Chester, who had taken Hull KR to a Challenge Cup final (2015) and twice led home-city Wakefield to top-five finishes in the top flight (2017 and 2018), with appointing a coach and assembling a squad the new team chief could guide back to the promised land – and stay there.
Chester pledged: “I will get the right people involved, as players and staff, to ensure the club fulfil their great potential. There are exciting times ahead.”
He has proved true to his word, with Lam, a former teammate at Wigan (Chester also played for Halifax and both Hull clubs), handed the reins, and his side’s achievements well documented.
Now Leigh, successfully rebranded from Centurions to Leopards by Beaumont after winning the Championship Grand Final in Lam’s first season at the helm, are seeking a third successive Super League play-off appearance.
They came within a win of last season’s Grand Final, reaching the semis, only to lose 38-0 at Wigan in what proved to be a game too far.
Leigh went into the new season with a new-look squad, including pacy Australian fullback David Armstrong, signed from Newcastle Knights, Tonga outside back Tesi Niu (Dolphins) and New Zealand forward Isaac Liu (Gold Coast Titans).
“The squad rebuild is a big thing,” said Beaumont.
“We have had some really good players who have got us to where we wanted to be, but there is always the need to refresh and evolve.
“The most successful sides are those who are thinking ahead, and I know Chris already has 2026 in his plans.
“We want to keep growing, eventually bringing more of our own products through via an enhanced Academy, and it’s about getting the balance between bringing players in and developing our own.
“Chris is very conscious of that, and I have to say I think he does a great job and has played a really significant role in getting us to where we are.
“He has built strong relationships with agents, he knows how the game works and has the respect of coaches and players.
“He lets Adrian coach, but he’s there as a good sounding board, and can sometimes pick up on those little details which make a difference.
“I get involved in certain aspects of the club, but on the rugby side, Chris has licence to get on with it, and he does.”