Leigh Leopards dealt injury setback as squads named for Wigan Warriors opener
Fireworks are let off ahead of a Wigan Warriors game at The Brick Community Stadium in 2024
Leigh Leopards will be without winger Darnell McIntosh for their Super League opener at Wigan Warriors on Thursday night – after both clubs revealed their inaugural squads of the 2025 campaign.
The new season begins with a bang on Thursday, with the biggest standalone opening-night crowd in history expected at the Brick Community Stadium. Over 20,000 tickets have been sold, with more expected to go ahead of the big kick-off.
Both teams have absentees going into the opening night, but two incredibly strong squads have still been named.
The Leopards will make the trip across the borough without one of their two first-choice wingers, after McIntosh failed to make the cut in Adrian Lam’s 21-man squad for the game. The likes of Josh Charnley and Edwin Ipape do return, though.
Bailey Hodgson or Keanan Brand are the frontrunners to replace McIntosh on the wing, with Leigh otherwise close to full-strength.
As for Wigan, they will be without forward Ethan Havard, who Matt Peet confirmed last week would miss several months due to a hamstring problem.
Long-term injury victim Brad O’Neill also remains out – but senior players including Abbas Miski and Jake Wardle come back into the squad that won at Sheffield last Friday.
Jacob Douglas and Taylor Kerr drop out.
Wigan squad: Jai Field, Abbas Miski, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Bevan French, Harry Smith, Luke Thompson, Junior Nsemba, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis, Patrick Mago, Liam Byrne, Kruise Leeming, Tyler Dupree, Harvie Hill, Sam Walters, Zach Eckersley, Tom Forber, Jack Farrimond, Harvey Makin.
Leigh squad: David Armstrong, Tesi Niu, Umyla Hanley, Josh Charnley, Gareth O’Brien, Lachlan Lam, Owen Trout, Edwin Ipape, Robbie Mulhern, Frankie Halton, Jack Hughes, Isaac Liu, Aaron Pene, Alec Tuitavake, Matt Davis, Brad Dwyer, Keanan Brand, Louis Brogan, Ethan O’Neill, Andy Badrock, Bailey Hodgson.
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