THE announcement that Leigh Centurions have rebranded as Leigh Leopards has sparked a social media storm.

The club announced the decision at a press conference on Thursday afternoon. 

The rebrand comes as Leigh prepare for their return to Super League in 2023.

The club are hoping a change of name will help bring about a change of fortune when they re-enter Super League in 2023.

The Centurions beat Batley in the Championship Grand Final earlier this month to earn promotion for the fourth time in the Super League era.

READ > Zak Hardaker wants to reach for the top with rebranded Leigh Leopards

They were immediately relegated in all three of the club's previous seasons in Super League in 2005, 2017 and 2021 but are confident they can buck the trend and will hope to do so in a new guise after changing their name from Centurions to Leopards.

Owner Derek Beaumont told the press conference at Leigh Sports Village that the arrival of global media giants IMG to help re-imagine the game presented an opportunity to rebrand the club.

“It’s not a whim,” Beaumont said. “It was the result of quite a lot of research over a period of time.

“It’s a re-branding of our club that creates a lot more opportunities from a commercial and retail aspect.”

Leigh also announced several high-profile signings for next year including Zak Hardaker, Ricky Leutele, Tom Briscoe, Matt Davis, Jacob Gannon, Oliver Holmes, Aaron Smith, Nathan Wilde, Jack Hughes, Gareth O'Brien and Robbie Mulhearn.

What's been said on social media

However, the rebrand to Leigh Leopards has led to a strong response from fans on the Journal's social media channels, with many seeing the move as unnecessary. 

Anthony Mottram wrote: "If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Leigh Centurions was a great name. The name Leopards seems like a change for the sake of it 

"Were the fans consulted?"

Richard Bills added: "Is it April Fools Day???

"If a rebrand was needed go back to Leigh RLFC and be proud of it..."

Stuart Gerrard said: "Why fix something that isn't broke? Centurions was a great name."

Meanwhile, Wayne Valentine said he was less bothered about the rebrand citing that many other clubs have had animal-related brands. He posted: "Tigers Devils Sharks Robins Wildcats Giants Warriors Dragons Rhinos Saints. Yeah leopards is embarrassing".

Some Championship rugby league clubs have joined in with posts jokingly stating they have rebranded themselves.

Featherstone Rovers tweeted: "Have your say on our proposed new identity, introducing the Featherstone Flamingos"

Barrow also got in on the act with a quip about a shirt reading "Barrow Budgies".