DEREK BEAUMONT has revealed that his main goal for the Leigh Leopards in 2025 was to beat Wigan Warriors.

Leigh, prior to Round One of Super League 2025, had not beaten Wigan since 2017 – when they were named the Centurions.

A series of close, hard-fought battles had taken place since Leigh made it back to Super League in 2023, but Adrian Lam’s men had fell just short.

However, the Leopards threw that monkey off their back at the start of the last campaign, running out 1-0 winners in an epic battle at the Brick Community Stadium in Round One.

“We spoke about our goals, our cultures as clubs do and I always give my expectation of what I want us to achieve as a group and what the carrot is for doing it,” Beaumont told the Ready and Willing podcast.

“This year, I literally said I want to do one thing we’ve not done as Leopards. There’s only one thing we’ve not achieved in terms of [winning] against other teams and that’s beat Wigan. We’ve not beat Wigan in three years as Leigh Leopards and everyone else we’d seen that happen.

“I knew, and Radz (Kris Radlinski) and Waney (Shaun Wane) had told me that they see us as a threat, so they bring that Grand Final mentality when they play us and I take that as a compliment.

“I said to the boys out there that I just want us to achieve that this year. Let’s just get the Wigan one off our back because, if we do it in Round One, everybody will get some belief.

“Wigan are a machine that, if you’re going to beat them, play them earlier in the season, but they brought everything.

“It was unreal for a Round One game of rugby, and it was what the sport needed to elevate the season.”

Even though Leigh went on to beat Wigan again at the Leigh Sports Village later in the year, the Warriors knocked out the Leopards in the play-off semi-finals.