Wigan Warriors 0-1 Leigh Leopards: Gareth O'Brien's dramatic ...

Gareth O'Brien came up with a dramatic golden point drop goal as Leigh Leopards clinched an historic 1-0 victory over Wigan Warriors at The Brick Community Stadium.

In a blockbuster season opener, with the players announced onto the pitch by the legendary Michael Buffer, two local rivals walked out to a wall of noise and fireworks as the 2025 Super League season truly started with a bang.

With attrition key for both Wigan and Leigh throughout the contest, defence ruled and both sides went set for set, which saw the clash all square at 0-0 at the full-time hooter, making it the first scoreless draw after 80 minutes in Super League history.

Out of the two sides, Leigh grew into the game, but with Wigan having not conceded a try for over six hours of rugby, they were going to be a tough team to break.

The second half saw more attacking chances than the first as both sides chanced their arm, but even a yellow card for Wigan captain Liam Farrell in the 53rd minute for dissent could not bring points for Leigh, despite opportunities.

Warriors' Adam Keighran then missed the final moments of the contest following a dangerous shot on Lachlan Lam.

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Finally, with the drama of golden point extra-time ensuing and a 12-player Wigan up against a 13-player Leigh, the home outfit had a set of possession before the Leopards worked their way down the field, and O'Brien came through with the magic moment to seal victory by the narrowest of margins.

The match was also the lowest-scoring Super League game and marked the first time Leigh have won away at Wigan in the Super League era. It was also the highest-attended Super League opener in the competition's history.

Buffer brings the glamour as Leigh find golden-point magic

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The opening clash of the 2025 Super League season is always an epic contest but the 'Battle of the Borough' between Wigan Warriors and Leigh Leopards was given a build-up befitting of the match announcer.

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With a 'Las Wigan Chapel' and The Lathums performing, the welcome onto the pitch from Buffer set the scene. He said his iconic 'let's get ready to rumble' catchphrase - and the two rivals did just that.

The first 40 minutes of the clash was a battle of defences, with strike players from both outfits like Liam Marshall, Jake Wardle, Bevan French, Davey Armstrong and Lachlan Lam all having glimpses of chances before big hits shut them down.

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With Leigh also growing into the contest and looking the sharper out of the two in attack, the players went in at 0-0 at half-time with all to play for.

The second half was immediately much more heated than the first but as we saw the first captain's challenge end unsuccessfully for Farrell, he was then sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes for dissent after kicking the ball away in protest after thinking he had been impeded while chasing down a try-scoring opportunity.

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Not long after losing their skipper, Wigan thought they had got the first points on the board as Jai Field raced through and dived in under the sticks on the 54th minute, but on review it was not given due to Marshall winning the ball back illegally in the tackle in the build-up.

The score was still deadlocked with 15 minutes to go, which saw the fans reach fever pitch as every chance felt vital, the Leopards unsuccessfully using their captain's challenge with less than 10 minutes remaining to try and overturn a knock-on from Brad Dwyer.

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As Keighran was then sin binned for a high shot with just over a minute remaining, the match went to golden point extra-time and with a player advantage, Leigh worked their way down field and O'Brien came in clutch with a sensational drop goal to wrap up the narrowest win of them all.

'You don't see many of those' | 'Leigh deserved it for what they have built'

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Leigh Leopards match-winner Gareth O'Brien speaking to Sky Sports:

"You don't see many 1-0s. It was a really tough game. I don't know how many tackles I made. We've not beaten Wigan so to get the win means a lot.

"The scoreline shows how tough the game was, with defences coming out on top, both team scrambling and putting it all on the line."

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Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet speaking to Sky Sports:

"Amazing game. All the credit goes to Leigh. I am proud of my players; I couldn't knock them really at half-time.

"There are things we will fix up in terms of execution, but the commitment and effort of both sets of players was incredible.

"Credit to what Leigh have built in the last few years, they deserve it tonight for their physicality and effort for a relatively new team."

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Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam speaking to Sky Sports:

"This is fantastic for the club. Since their promotion back to the Super League, Wigan are the only team we haven't beaten so we'll take the football score.

"It's a great way to start the season for rugby league and exposure to other sports that are watching tonight. It was a great game to watch.

"I wasn't sure what we were going to get tonight with so many new players in the squad but it was just courageous. If that's the standard of what's ahead for us then we're on the up.

"There's a lot of work to do but I'm just grateful to be part of tonight, the highest round-one crowd in Super League ever."

What's next?

Super League continues on Friday February 14 as Hull KR take on Castleford Tigers and Catalans Dragons face Hull FC, with both matches kicking off onSky Sports+ from 8pm.

Wigan Warriors are back in action on Friday February 21 when they travel to face Hull FC, live on Sky Sports+ with kick-off at 8pm. Meanwhile, Leigh Leopards are at home on Sunday February 23 against Huddersfield Giants, live on Sky Sports+ from 2.30pm.