Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont said: “It was very interesting to see a few ideas come to life with the Patrick designers producing them into their 3D images. I’m not going to go into them too much here as we’ve decided to keep them for other ideas which will become apparent. In the end, we didn’t want to lose focus on what is important to us at the moment, and that is our awareness and support of Autism. As many of our sponsors, members, and supporters will know, we have a passion for inclusion at our club, which follows the values of the sport as a whole. Our community department makes a significant impact through the A-team hub in the town, and they rely greatly on our support through our Magic weekend shirt sales and the provision of the players’ jerseys to auction off. I wanted to ensure we continue to support such an important part of our community. Autism affects many people in many ways and isn’t always completely visible.

“I am a keen driver in everyone having an opportunity to be the best version of themselves, irrespective of any issues they may have that impact upon them. We have previously donned the varied colours associated with Autism awareness in the iconic form of jigsaw pieces, and I thought, why can’t we do that with our now synonymous leopard print rosettes to really embrace that inclusion. I appreciate that whatever design we come up with, there will be people that like it and others that don’t, as it’s not possible to please all of the people all of the time. But what I think is possible is that everyone can embrace the support of Autism awareness and inclusion in our club and our town.”