Leigh Leopards announces new branding along with multiple new signings

Amongst the Rugby League World Cup hype, the former Leigh Centurions announced a rebranding as they are now being recognised in their first season back in the top-flight as Leigh Leopards.

With a new badge, name, kit and signings, plenty of supporters are excited about the return of Leigh in Super League after they blew the Betfred Championship away last term, finishing top of the league before thrashing Batley Bulldogs in the ‘Million Pound game’ which saw Adrian Lam’s side return to the top flight at the first time of asking.

It was also the second success of the season for Lam who previously won the 1895 Cup with Leigh back in May after beating Featherstone Rovers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

With the rebranding, Leigh hosted a press conference where they announced the fresh new look of the Leopards who are fancied by many to be the first team in quite a few years to survive an immediate drop back to the second tier following a promotion.

Owner Derek Beaumont insisted that the club are ‘finished with Championship rugby’ and the rebranding signifies an overall plan to see Leigh become an established Super League club.

With the signings of many proven Super League quality players, it bodes well for the Leigh side who will switch to black and white home colours from their tradition red and white stripes.

The new announcement saw some huge signings, some of which ended some controversial sagas that felt never-ending, especially in the case of Zak Hardaker whose future has been up in the air for a number of months.

Hardaker has recently spoke on his ‘disappointment ’over the deal he was offered at Headingley and felt the deal he was offered by Leigh, which was notably a year longer than the deal offered by Leeds, showed more about what ‘he felt he was worth’.

 

As well as Hardaker, Leigh announced the signings of Huddersfield’s Ricky Leutele and Leeds’ Tom Briscoe who spent nine years at Headingley and featured in the Rhinos’ recent Grand Final loss to St Helens but wasn’t offered a new deal in West-Yorkshire.

Other names announced included, Gareth O’Brien, Robbie Mulhern, Jack Hughes, Matt Davis, Oliver Holmes, Jacob Gannon, Nathan Wilde,

So, with a squad now littered with Super League talent and more importantly experience needed to survive in the league which Leigh have struggle to settle in for so long, may this finally be the start of Leigh become a sustained Super League side.

Therefore, with many fans feeling this is finally the time for Leigh to settle in the top flight, the timing of the re-branding does feel right.

However, it is believed that fans weren’t fully consulted on the matter which raises a couple of questions surrounding the change. Minor details like club colours, names which carry history are important to supporters.

Switching sports for a second, many football fans can cast their mind back to 2012 when Cardiff City were promoted to the Premier League and changed their primary colour from Blue to Red, despite being nicknamed the ‘Bluebirds’ which caused uproar in South Wales.

Whilst the reaction from Leigh fans hasn’t quite been the same, not consulting a fan-base on such a huge decision moving forward for the club is one mighty risk.

But, if the switch means Leigh move on from their recent years of being a ‘yoyo club’ and manage to sustain and cement their place in the Betfred Super League, then I’m sure most Leigh fans won’t mind what their club is named or colour shirts they wear.

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