BEFORE a ball had been kicked at the start of the 2023 Super League season, people far and wide were predicting the Leigh Leopards to struggle in the top flight.
After all, after being promoted three times before, the Lancashire club failed to stay in the top flight on each occasion in their first season.
This year just seemed different, however, and boy has it proved to be.
Preparing for the Super League is no mean feat at the start of October after earning promotion, so Leigh did what no other second-tier side has done in the past – start preparing midway through the Championship season.
The likes of Lachlan Lam, Edwin Ipape and Blake Ferguson made their way into the club as Leigh steamrolled all of their Championship opponents to earn promotion with ease at the end of 2022.
In October of last year, owner Derek Beaumont decided to take the bold step of rebranding the club, as ‘Centurions’ was dropped for ‘Leopards’ with a brand new kit in tow.
Of course, at the time, Beaumont was ridiculed as the club continued to tinker with the new badge as well as add different colours to the kit.
With a plethora of new signings, too, such as Tom Briscoe, Oliver Holmes, Ricky Leutele and Zak Hardaker, there were question marks over whether the Leopards would gel in time to steer clear from relegation sooner rather than later.
Leigh won just three of their opening eight fixtures at the start of the Super League season but are currently on a six-match winning run which has seen them demolish the likes of Warrington Wolves, Leeds Rhinos and Castleford Tigers.
As such, the Leopards now sit firmly inside the top six play-offs with ten wins from 16 games and just four points behind leaders Catalans Dragons, whilst the club has the chance to reach the Challenge Cup Final for the first time since 1971 – when Leigh beat Leeds 24-7 at Wembley.
Even in their wildest dreams, Leigh fans could not have dreamed for a better start to life as the Leopards, and, with continued investment from Beaumont, the future looks incredibly rosy.
With that in mind, the Leopards make a great case for being the best team to have been promoted to Super League since the summer game began in 1996 – as long as they continue along the same path.
In 1997, the then-named Salford Reds finished sixth after earning promotion the previous year and Widnes Vikings finished seventh in 2002, but it definitely looks promising for Leigh to be given that crown.
