Rugby League Enthusiasts Await Leigh Leopards’ Clash with Former Club Wigan Warriors
On Friday, July 5th, the Leigh Leopards will take on their former club Wigan Warriors in a crucial Round 16 encounter. Among the key storylines is the potential for two Leopards players to hit significant milestones against their old team.
Winger Josh Charnley and versatile back Zak Hardaker both made over 250 combined appearances for the Cherry & Whites during their time at The Brick Community Stadium. Charnley, who played for Wigan from 2010 to 2016, won three Grand Finals, three Challenge Cups, and two League Leaders’ Shields with the club. Hardaker, meanwhile, spent around three-and-a-half seasons with the Warriors, joining them at the start of the 2019 campaign and departing midway through 2022.
Charnley, now 33 years old, is closing in on a significant milestone, sitting just eight tries behind Danny McGuire, who is second on the all-time Super League try-scorers list with 247 tries. With Charnley currently on 301 career tries, just one more would see him draw level with Welsh dual-code star Maurice Richards in 31st place on the list of all-time try-scorers in the British game. A hat-trick on Friday would even move him level with 30th place on that list, ex-Great Britain ace Alan Hardisty, who has 304 tries.
Hardaker, on the other hand, needs three tries to hit two milestones – 150 career tries and 100 Super League tries. The 32-year-old, who is widely expected to link up with Hull FC in 2025, has scored 26 of his 147 career tries for Wigan, with 22 of those coming in Super League.
“As the Leopards return to their former stomping ground, all eyes will be on Charnley and Hardaker as they look to etch their names further into the rugby league history books.”
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