When Wigan Warriors and Leigh Leopards met at the Leigh Sports Village earlier in the season it was a comprehensive victory for the Warriors by a scoreline of 40-10 but both sides knew that the recent resurgence of the Leopards meant that this was a far different prospect.

Wigan are flying high at the top of the table and tow points clear of their nearest rivals while Leigh are in ninth spot after their recent resurgence and on the fringe of the play-off places as the season heads into its second half.

The home side had been handicapped by twelve points with the bookies making them firm favourites, but Adrian Lam’s side love an upset, especially over their nearest neighbours.

It was always going to be an emotional night at Headingley as the Leeds Rhinos hosted their first game since the death of idol, superstar, and MND campaigner Rob Burrow welcoming the Leig Leopards to a sold-out stadium.

But the departure, by mutual consent, of coach Rohan Smith during the week added an extra edge with Scott Grix and Chev Walker taking temporary charge while the global search for a new coach takes place at the highest level.

Leigh had been made favourites with the bookies with the home side given a four point start on the handicap coupon and a win for Leigh would lift them above Huddersfield and just a point behind the Rhinos.

The bookies were struggling to call the game between the Catalans Dragons and Leigh Leopards as they gave the visitors just a four-point start on the coupon despite the seven-point difference between the two sides on the league table.

A win for the Dragons would see them up to fifth, a big win could see them end the weekend in fourth while victory for the Leopards would see them to within one point of the Huddersfield Giants and towards the middle of the table in their own quest for a top six place.

Both sides had a benefitted from a week’s rest for the Cup Final and were ready to go ‘guns’ blazing’ for the win in the south of France, the Dragons looking to turn around a recent poor run of form.

It’s just eleven miles between the home stadia of the Leigh Leopards and Salford Red Devils but a massive nine points on the Super League 2024 table as the home side look to build on the single point which they picked up in last weekend’s draw with the Castleford Tigers while Salford knew that a win would keep them joint top of a congested table.

The bookies had made the home side slight favourites for the win and handicapped them by six points on the coupon but the recent news of the departures of Asiata and Hardaker to Hull FC must have caused some disquiet in the ranks.

Salford won the encounter between the two sides in March by 36-24 but despite the gulf in table points, this was likely to be a close encounter.

Two sides from the wrong end if the 2024 Super League table met in the final game of round ten as the Castleford Tigers went to Leigh Leopards with both sides looking for their third win of the season to cut adrift the pointless London Broncos in last place.

The bookies couldn’t see anything other than a win for the Leopards, giving the visitors a sixteen-point start in the coupon for the first meeting between the two strugglers, mostly in recognition of the way that Leigh demolished the Catalans Dragons last time out just eight days ago.

The top of the table beckoned for the Catalans Dragons as they travelled to Leigh to take on a Leopard side who are still looking for their second win of the season as they try to pull away from the sides at the bottom of the table.

Despite the chasm between the two sides on the league table the bookies were struggling to find a favourite but plumped for the visitors but only by handicapping them two points on the coupon, perhaps the premise being that Leigh must gain a win at some point after many close losses.

Leigh are still six points adrift of eighth place Leeds Rhinos but the Dragons knew that a win would lift them to the top of the pile entering round ten next weekend.

After putting the Rhinos to the sword in round seven, you could find few people who would back against a similar scoreline at the felidae versus canidea encounter between the Wolves and the Leopards which took place on a round eight Saturday afternoon at the Halliwell-Jones.

A Wolves win by twenty-three or more points would see them back above St Helens to the top of the table, at least for a couple of hours until the Dragons played Hull KR in the south of France, while a win for ninth placed Leigh would at least give them some breathing space to the bottom of the table, but it would still leave them four points adrift of eighth placed Leeds Rhinos.

The bookies were predicting a twelve-point win for the home side but in doing so were giving some credit to a Leopards side who are improving week on week but not getting the league points that their efforts deserve.

Facing Wigan Warriors on the back of their first defeat in fifteen games is never ideal, but when you are Adrian Lam’s Leigh Leopards who are looking desperately for a win then it is doubly difficult as the two sides met for the first ‘Battle of the Borough’ in 2024.

A win by four points or more would put Wigan back to the top of the pile with a game in hand, a win for the Leopard wouldn’t improve their league position but would edge them a little further away from potential danger.

The bookies weren’t expecting a runaway win as the Leopards edge closer to their first win of the season, and they only gave the home side a twelve-point start on the handicap coupon, expecting that it might be a closer affair than many commentators and tipsters.

The East Lancashire Road derby pitted the Salford Red Devils against the Leigh Leopards in an Easter Saturday early evening kick off as the side in seventh pace hosted their historical rivals who are currently in ninth after both sides have had an indifferent start to the season.

One of these sides would give their season a kick start with a precious win, the other would remain in the doldrums, the bookies made the home side the slight favourites but after only handicapping them by two points on the coupon they didn’t believe that there would be very much in it.

It was the first time that the two sides had met in 2024, with plenty up to grabs.

Leigh Leopards entered the Challenge Cup still seeing their first win of 2024 after a disappointing start to the season and were up against Championship side Featherstone Rovers who have also had a mixed start to the season including last weekend’s loss against the Batley Bulldogs.

Leigh were without Gareth O’Brien but relieved that Lachlan Lam was back on the subs bench after suffering a gashed leg against the Rhinos a fortnight ago and they were up against a side who have been dogged by off field problems in the opening weeks of the new season.

Leigh were massive favourites for a big win, Featherstone given a thirty-two-point start n the handicap coupon, the visitors were on a hiding to nothing.

The sides could change their league position as a result of their round five Super League XXIX clash as ninth placed Hull FC hosted a Leigh Leopards side who began the game in a disappointing tenth spot and without a win in their opening three fixtures of the season.

Tony Smith welcomed back several stars returning from injury and suspension while the Leigh side continues to look strong, despite the loss of Lachlan Lam and Tom Amone, and confound the pundits as to why they have not recorded any victories so far in this campaign.

The Black & Whites were slight favourites with the bookies but with Leigh commanding just a two-point start on the handicap coupon there was very little to choose between them for a Saturday afternoon encounter.

Leigh Leopards were still seeking their first win of the season as they entered the fourth round of Super League XXIX with a game against a Leeds Rhinos side with their eyes on the top half of the table after a great win against the Catalans Dragons last time out.

The Rhinos were slight favourites with the bookies, but many pundits thought that it was too close to call with Leigh only getting a two-point start on the handicap coupon.

It was another week and another suspension for the Rhinos with James Bentley missing, but they did welcome back Mikolaj Oledzki, Leigh also made changes including the return of Tom Amone after a suspension, but they were still without John Asiata.

The magic of the Challenge Cup has reached round two with the BBC choosing the clash between two sides from the National Conference First division with the relegated Leigh Miners Rangers and Stanningley poised for a classic trans-Pennine battle.

Jus six places separated the two sides at the end of the 2023 season with Leigh finishing third bottom and Stanningley fourth from the top of their respective leagues and despite having home advantage there was a real chance of an upset in favour of the side from Leeds.

Leigh Miners were the bookies favourites for the win in their home game at Twist Lane, with Stanningley having been given a twelve point start on the coupon.

Super League entered the knock-out stages with a play-off encounter between two sides who have had sensational seasons and exceeded all expectations as Hull KR played hosts to the cup winning Leigh Leopards at Craven Park with the winners going through to a game against one of the top two next weekend.

It was KR who finished the regular season in fourth spot, and they were handicapped by six points on the coupon against the side who felt hard done by when they narrowly lost to the Wigan Warriors last weekend to drop from fourth a swap places with their hosts on points difference.

The season would end for one of these two after what promised to be an intense eighty minutes as the two sides played out a re-run the Challenge Cup final.

The final day of the season mathematics were not simple, either at the top of the table, or for the play off places.

SKY chose to send their cameras to the Leigh Sports Village where the Leopards hoped to spoil the party for their near neighbours and seal them a loss which could see them end the night in third spot.

Wigans superior points difference meant that so long as they beat Leigh by a point, and Catalans won by less than sixty-eight, and Saints won by less than one hundred and forty-one, then it would be the Warriors getting crowned as minor premiers by ten o’clock.

A loss and wins for Catalans and the Saints would drop them down into the spots for next week’s play-off games and throw away the luxury of a week off.

Leigh were also looking over their shoulders and knew that a heavy loss could open the doors for Hull KR to take fourth and a home game next weekend.

The engraver would be scratching a name onto the World-famous Challenge Cup which had not adorned it for the at least the last forty-two years as the Leigh Leopards took on Hull Kingston Rovers in the competition with one hundred and twenty-six years of history.

Leigh’s terrific recent form meant that they came into the game as narrow favourites over a Hull KR side who knew that this was their best chance of silverware in a season which has seen them hovering around the last of the Super League play-off places.

Wembley was filled with a lot of excited fans from both sides of the Pennines as two sides not used to the long journey south made a welcome change to the usual old guard who normally frequent this flagship occasion.

Leigh haven’t won at Headingley for thirty-nine years but sitting in second spot in the table, they sent a full-strength side over the Pennines, despite being within a week of a Challenge Cup Final appearance, optimistic for the win as they took on new look Leeds Rhinos side who will now have to see out the season without the game controlling Blake Austin who was released to the Castleford Tigers during the week.

Leeds had been made the favourites by the bookies, the Leopards getting a four-point start on the coupon, as those with a betting mind thought that the lure of a cup final berth would activate the ‘cup self-preservation’ mode amongst their leading players.

The loss would hurt the Rhinos much more than it would Leigh.

A seemingly unstoppable Leigh Leopards side fresh from their cup victory over St Helens last weekend travelled the short distance to the DW Stadium to take on a Wigan Warriors side still smarting from their own cup exit at the hands of Hull KR.

A win for the home side would lift them level on points with their opponents but victory for Leigh would lift the, level with the Catalans Dragons in top place going into the final quarter of the season.

Wigan were the favourites with the bookies with the Leopards having been given an eight point start on the coupon, the Leopards underdogs to overcome a 40 year Wigan drought.

It is thirty-nine years since a Leigh side travelled to Salford and came away with the points and despite Leigh being second in the table against seventh paced Salford, the bookies still thought that it would be the Red Devils who would win a close game as they gave the Leopards a two-point start on the handicap coupon.

A win for the home side would lift them back into the top six but it was the Leopards aspirations of the minor premiership which were on the line as they needed the two points to keep them in touch with the Catalans Dragons at the top of the table.

There had never been an ‘East Lancs Road’ derby with more to play for and less certainty as to who would emerge victorious.

Few people gave Championship side York RLFC Knights any chance of making progress in the Challenge Cup as they welcomed high flying Super League side Leigh Leopards to the LNER Community Stadium.

York coach Andrew Henderson had a long injury list which left him without the services of half a dozen first team choices, while Leigh’s Adrian Lam could pick an almost unchanged side, although he was without the injured Edwin Ipape and Ricky Leutele.

The last time these two sides met was in the Championship play-offs at the end of last season when York were massacred by Leigh, the suspicion was that it would be a similar outcome in the last quarter final with a game against St Helens the prize for the winners.