Umyla Hanley hailed the belief of the Leigh Leopards squad as the crucial factor after a rare 1-0 win over reigning champions Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Super League season opener.
Gareth O’Brien’s drop goal three minutes into golden point snatched a first win away to their ‘Battle of the Borough’ rivals for 42 years and saw them make history with a first victory by that scoreline for any team in 30 seasons of Super League.
It was a situation which required cool heads, particularly after a delay in the extra period getting under way due to a stadium clock malfunction, and player of the match Hanley praised head coach Adrian Lam’s messaging.
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“Lammy just made it really clear – everyone stick together,” Hanley, whose father Ellery starred for Wigan during his playing days, told Sky Sports.
“We knew what we needed to do…and we all had the faith all the way through. A big word for us this pre-season has been belief and we all had the belief all the way through.
“You can’t really put it into words. That feeling is absolutely unbelievable.
“All of the boys fighting for each other, you can’t even describe that feeling.”
Thursday’s clash at the Brick Community Stadium set a number of new benchmarks due to its low-scoring nature, including being the first time a match had finished scoreless after 80 minutes in Super League history.
Leigh drop-goal hero O’Brien was impressed with how his side were able to hang with a Wigan team which swept all before them in 2024 by claiming all four trophies on offer.
“That just shows how tough the game was,” O’Brien told Sky Sports.
“Defence was on top, but both teams scrambled well and put it all on the line to get the win. So, we’re really happy.
“They’re the best in the world at grinding teams down and winning that arm wrestle.
“We knew if we stuck with them we had a chance of winning the game and thankfully we came out on top.”
Image: Oly Hassell/SWpix
