Warrington-Leigh pre-season friendly locked in for January as details confirmed

Warrington Wolves and Leigh Leopards will square off in a pre-season friendly at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Friday, January 30 (7.30pm KO).

Last year, the North West foes met four times competitively, with Leigh winning all three of their Super League head-to-heads, including a first-ever victory at the HJ against Wire.

The Wolves though reigned supreme in the pair’s Challenge Cup semi-final tie, booking themselves a trip to Wembley: where only a last-gasp try from Hull KR prevented them from sealing a first major honour since 2019.

But before any of those four meetings took place, Warrington had hosted Leigh in a pre-season friendly acting as Toby King’s testimonial.

And the two clubs will meet again in a pre-season friendly next month ahead of the 2026 campaign beginning.

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Warrington-Leigh pre-season friendly locked in for January as details confirmed

This clash will mark the fourth year in a row which has seen Leigh travel to Wire in pre-season, doing so every 12 months since their return to Super League.

2023’s pre-season clash at the HJ was won 22-10 by the hosts in what was Ben Currie’s testimonial.

That game though was marred by a late red card for Josh McGuire, playing his first game for the Wolves. He later received a seven-game ban for unacceptable language!

The Leopards have then come out on top in pre-season clashes against Warrington in both 2024 and 2025, winning 28-12 in Joe Philbin’s testimonial before spoiling the party earlier this year with a 20-12 success in King’s testimonial.

Next month’s pre-season meeting isn’t expected to be a special occasion for any particular player in the shape of a testimonial, but will mark the last non-competitive fixture before the 2026 campaign begins for both clubs.

Warrington have already got a friendly booked in against neighbours Widnes Vikings for January 9, but this is the only fixture in Leigh’s pre-season calendar as things stand.

That’s no surprise where the Leopards are concerned though, with their annual friendly at Warrington providing their only pre-season outing in recent years.

Both will officially begin their 2026 campaign the weekend after this clash as they enter the Challenge Cup at the Third Round stage, facing a team from a lower division away from home along with the other 12 Super League clubs.