THE Italian football manager Annibale Frossi once said “The perfect result to a football game is 0-0.”

He might, then, have enjoyed the clash between Wigan and Leigh on Thursday night which finished with such a scoreline in normal time, but this was rugby league football, not association football.

Frossi and other defensive-minded football coaches believed that no goals being scored represented the perfect balance between attack and defence, and meant the game had been error-free.

This idea was applied to association football, but could the same thoughts be applied to rugby league? They are both forms of football, after all.

The 2025 Super League opener on Thursday was highly unusual in its lack of points scored.

Super League is now in its 30th season, but this was the first game in all of that time to finish 0-0 after 80 minutes.

It was the first professional rugby league match to finish 0-0 since a Cumbrian derby between Workington and Whitehaven in 1993, and also only the third Super League game to finish without a try being scored (the others being Salford 5, Harlequins 2 in 2007; and Warrington 4, Hull FC 0 in 2022).

It was eventually won by a Gareth O’Brien drop goal in golden point extra time, meaning the game finished 1-0 in Leigh’s favour.

The idea put forward by Frossi and others that no scoring in a football match is an indication of its quality or some kind of perfection is contentious.

Goals or tries are not always scored due to defensive mistakes. The best passages of a football match can be the well-executed attacking moves carried out by masters of the craft that result in points being scored.

But even if there are no obvious individual errors, defensive tacticians will always point to some kind of flaw in the tactical setup or team shape that allowed even the greatest attacking players the chance to score.

Sometimes, though, the basic fact that attackers have the initiative and defenders aren’t mind readers means high-level attacking play can overcome even the most organised and talented defence.

This is also why the world’s best defensive players, who manage to stop the best attackers more often than not when one-on-one, are underrated, especially when it comes to individual awards.

Fans want to see entertaining games, and this is often defined by the amount and quality of the attacking play on show.

The rules of rugby league itself were altered from those of rugby union in order to be more entertaining and to attract more spectators.

League separated from union in 1895 to allow for professionalism so working-class players could be compensated when taking time off work. The idea being that games made money so the players providing the entertainment should receive a portion of that money.

Attempting to make the game more free-flowing and more attractive to paying spectators made sense.

Changes included the reduction of the number of players from 15 to 13 allowing for more space on the pitch, and the introduction of the play-the-ball after being tackled instead of a ruck in an attempt to speed up the game.

Entertainment is not always provided by the scoring of points, though.

Indeed, a try itself did not always earn points in rugby. It was originally merely an opportunity to “try” at goal — similar to a conversion attempt or an extra point in American football — and a goals-based scoring system was used as in association football.

Tries soon began to earn points as the game of rugby evolved in the late 19th century, and by the turn of the century, tries were worth more points than successful kicks at goal.

Today, tries in rugby league are worth four points, five in rugby union, and six in American and Canadian football.

A low-scoring defensive encounter can still be much more entertaining than a high-scoring one-sided game.

“It’s tough to lose, but I thought it was a high-quality game,” Wigan coach Matt Peet said after losing 1-0 to Leigh on Thursday.

“The highlight reel won’t be very long, but when there’s so much talent on the field from both sides, for not a lot to happen, a lot of people are doing things right.

“To cancel one another out for that long takes a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of organisation and a lot of commitment to one another.

“I am disappointed we got beat, but to be involved in a game like that is special. I have been involved in games where we have won by 40, 50 and 60. They are non-events.

“That was a fascinating spectacle with two sets of blokes who deserve plenty of credit.”

Aside from any thoughts on what constitutes an entertaining game and the philosophising on the scoring of points in football matches, the drop goal in golden point extra time gave Leigh their first win at Wigan since 1983 and was an indication that the new season will be highly competitive.

It was a historic result for Leigh, but even their victorious coach Adrian Lam said the points deserved to be shared.

“I’m not a big supporter of the golden point to be honest with you,” Lam said. “When you play the game like that, I think both teams deserve a point.”

Lam has a point, and his team deserved one.

If the perfect football game does finish 0-0, then both teams should take something in return for their efforts.