Salary Cap, Retention & Recruitment

 

Changes to the Super League recruitment policy came into force this year. The contracts run from 1st December to the end of November. Anybody with less than a year remaining on the contract is allowed to talk to any club. This has led to both Harry Newman and James McDonnell (Rhinos) negotiating contracts with the NRL for the start of season 2027. This has resulted in a free-for-all, with demand high due to expansion in both Super League and NRL. Bradford, York and Toulouse in Super League and the Perth Bears next year in the NRL before the PNG Chiefs are added in 2028.

Super League is hampered by the Salary Cap Leopards are Massive: Director of Rugby and Salary Cap and player values rising, it was inevitable that a little relaxation of rules came into effect for the 2026 Season. Ten overseas slots are now available per Super League team, and the best deals are being found in the NRL lower divisions (NSW and Queensland Cups). This, with a relaxation in Visa restrictions, allows players under 25 to be able to pick up visas more easily. Umyla Hanley, who picked up a Dream Team selection for 2025 as seen his stock rise. Owen Trout, who picked up an England cap for his 20-minute stint against Australia, is also in demand. Hanley has officially been announced as retained for an extra 2 years (2028), Owen Trout was revealed by Love Rugby League, Leigh Leopards land major contract boost as star forward re-signs but not officially by the club. Both players can expect significant uplifts in their salaries. What is not clear is whether the new contracts come into effect immediately, making them 3-year contracts or 1+2 contracts. For the general fan this is not really important, but for the club, it will change the ongoing Salary cap. Derek Beaumont, talking about the 2026 season, stated that he had spent every penny of the cap.

All Out Rugby League in November highlighted that Leigh had 13 players with contracts set to expire at the end of the 2026 season Every Leigh Leopards contract situation with 13 without deals beyond 2026 | All Out Rugby League. The relative importance can be broken down depending on a number of factors:

1. Upcoming young talent: Umyla Hanley, Owen Trout, Bailey Hodgson, Robbie Mulhern
2. Older players with less demand: Josh Charnley, Gaz O'Brien,  Issac Liu
3. Replaceable players on short contracts: Jack Hughes, Ben McNamara, Aaron Pene, Brad Martin

Hanley and Trout are both now sorted, with NRL and Super League fended off for now. Bailey Hodgson and Robbie are the next most important. Issac Liu is vitally important but I am guessing the "Iceman" will be chilled about extending or returning to Australia, depending on how he and his family have settled in.

Josh Charnley and Gaz O'Brien will be playing for contracts, but may see diminished game time. They will then go into an algorithm about value against the potential number of games they will play.

The players in category 3 will need to wait to see if they have been replaced by younger or better models.

It is a juggling act, and it is easy to see why Leigh has a vacancy for the Head of Rugby; it will take some of the stress off Lammy and Jukesy.