Saints Take the Spoils

 

"We probably haven’t played that poorly since the Challenge Cup semi last year here against Warrington" Adrian Lam.

In Leigh there is a familiar saying, "In Lam we trust". Adrian Lam is that rare thing in British sport, a head coach who does not get any criticism, but sometimes there is a need to question what the hell is going on:

1. In 2023, Leigh had "The Lethal Left Edge"; it was the favoured wing for Lachlan Lam to attack on. It was stacked with Kai O'Donnell, Ricky Leutele and Josh Charnley. All of these were potential outlets for Lockie to attack with. The icing on the cake was Gaz O'Brien who played full-back and would chime in for extra punch. The right edge was to say the least a little clunky.

In 2024, Leigh signed a wonderful attacking half-back in the shape of Matt Moylan. Wonderful soft hands and eye for playing heads-up rugby. Unfortunately for Matt, his career was coming to an end due to having a weakness in defence. Moylan was switched to full-back and O'Brien moved to half-back and "The Lethal Left Edge" was no more.

In 2025, Leigh pulled off a coup, signing David Armstrong a young man with speed to burn. The half-back problem identified in 2024 would remain, and Gaz O'Brien would continue to fill in. Armstrong was injured early season but would continue to play before Leigh unearthed a gem in Bailey Hodgson.

In 2026, Leigh now have an issue that they have two outstanding Full-backs, Gaz O'Brien is now utility backup and Adam Cook is playing in the halves. 

2. In 2023 and 2024, John Asiata was the undisputed king of the Loose Forwards. 2024 was an injury-ravaged season, and Asiata would eventually seek a move to Hull FC, to gain a lengthier contract.

2025 the response from Leigh was to bring Auckland-born NRL star Issac "the Iceman" Liu to the LSV. Liu had played most of his career at Prop, but Lammy saw a loose forward in Isaac. A cool head to distribute when needed and to tuck the ball under his jumper if no options were available.

2026 Round 1 Issac Liu was on compassionate leave, returning to the UK only a matter of days before the Leeds game. The response was to utilise another Prop in the Loose Forward slot with Joe Offahengaue having a monster game. Round 2 Issac Liu is left on the bench and Joffa retained the role of 13. Earlier this week Lam had discussed his plan to utilise both hookers, Ipape and Horne, in a rotating 9 and 13 role.

Scenario 1, I can understand that circumstances dictated a personnel change. Scenario 2 makes no sense, fixing what isn't broken. After the St Helens game, Liam Horne would not be in the matchday squad, coming on to the field, his first action was a tip, 2 minutes later, he threw the ball out of the try zone for a drop out.

Lammy was not a happy camper, he labelled the performance as their ‘worst in nine months’ and full of ‘uncharacteristic’ errors. “We’re very frustrated that we put ourselves under pressure with so many penalties and errors against, it’s uncharacteristic,” Lam said post-match.
“Some players didn’t have their best games, and we’re a new team trying to find some comfort in trying to chase the game towards the end, but we just couldn’t get that together."

Congratulations to St Helens for the win; it was not the "Rowleyball" we were promised. This is very much Saints of the last few years. Kick to the corners and squeeze the attack. Hastings may see lots of the ball, but he does nothing but drop it off the big boys or kick. He is a shadow of the "man-of-steel" from 5 years ago, but he may still prove the cog that gets the team turning. As yet, I am still unconvinced.

St Helens v Leigh Leopards - Round 2 Super League 2026

 

BrewDog Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in St Helens, Merseyside, England. Previously known as the Totally Wicked Stadium, between 2017 and 2025, and as Langtree Park between 2012 and 2017, it has a capacity of over 18,000 and is the home ground of rugby league club St Helens R.F.C.

In Super League, there are two teams that didn't get the memo, Saints are one and Hull FC are the other. Super League was supposed to be about monikers, something to make dreary Northern towns sound more accessible and exotic. Hull FC had a short dalliance with Hull Sharks but they soon changed back to FC after stabbing Gateshead Thunder in the back. St Helens maybe known as the Saints, but they are not St Helens Saints, no they go by the drab Rugby Footbal Club tagline. In Britain we have clung to the past and still use RFC and RLFC, it makes no sense we are not Football Clubs we should be proud to be Rugby League. The NRL all adopted monikers, and we often refer only to the monikers. One of the newest clubs in the NRL go by the Dolphins and ignore the fact that they are really called The Redcliffe Dolphins.

Anyway I digress, Round 2 of Super League throws up an interesting tie, (dubbed the "Rowley Derby") St Helens v Leigh Leopards. St Helens are one of the most decorated teams in Rugby League:

Championships	17 (1932, 1953, 1959, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2014,  2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
Challenge Cups	13 (1956, 1961, 1966, 1972, 1976, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2021)
World Club Challenges	3 (2001, 2007, 2023)
Other honours	39

By the virtue of being extremely successful, they are also one of the most entitled clubs and supporters in Super League. They expect to win every trophy, every year without fail (see also Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos). If you doubt me then check out Redvee TV – RedVee.Net they can be found all over YouTube, and particularly interesting when Saints lose. St Helens dominated Super League for four straight seasons 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 but have been in decline ever since. 3rd, 6th and 5th would be good performances for normal teams, but for the Saints fans this is totally unacceptable. The scapegoat for their woes was club Legend Paul Wellens, his sacking at the end of the 2025 season is very much part of the current woes bestriding the club at present. Paul Rowley was drafted in from the wreakage of Salford Red Devils, along with a number of his former charges: Nene McDonald, Deon Cross and Joe Shorrocks. The shenanigans at the club resulted in no pre-planning for the 2026, and St Helens have been behind every club in a scramble for new recruits. Considering how far they were behind it is a wonder they have managed to recruit David Klemmer, Jacob Host and Jackson Hastings, plus the ex-Salford players already mentioned. For many pundits this was a team ready to assume it's rightful place at the top of Super League.

Round 1 found St Helens playing away at local rivals Warrington Wolves. The Wire had a difficult 2025, finishing in 8th place, 10 points of the play-off spots. This was considered to be an easy win for St Helens, but by half-time they were already 18 points down and an improved 2nd half did little to change peoples opinions that St Helens are perhaps not the finished article just yet.

Round 2 sees St Helens host the Leigh Leopards in a local derby. For a team under pressure so early in the competition, Saints will not be looking forward to a tussle with the Leopards. A win for Saints however, will ignite their season, but a loss will put a huge dent into any title aspirations before the season has got going. 

For Saints, having already lost their Captain Matty Lees for a 10 week period, they now have to contend with the loss of Jack Welsby for 3 months. St Helens suffered several key injuries last season, but in particular Paul Wellens was forced to tinker with the spine. It became so serious that nobody could accurately guess what spine options would be used on any given day. The start of season was still plagued with questions as to what options Rowley would choose and which square pegs would be used in which round hole. The recruitment of former Man-of-Steel Jacson Hastings, seemed to establish at least one of the spine spots. The loss of Jack Welsby will result in shuffling the pack of cards with at least 3 players: Nene McDonald, Tristan Sailor and Harry Robertson all options at Full-back. The obvious choice is for Tristan Sailor to move to number 1 and Jonny Lomax move to stand-off. For this reason I fully expect Rowley to choose Nene McDonald and shoe-horn a winger into the vacant centre spot. Whatever happens I expect some form of tinkering to this St Helens side and for Rowley he needs to find a solution fairly quickly, with Welsby out for up to 12 weeks.

Leigh Leopards on the otherhand have moved from being 11 players out for the Challenge Cup 3rd round, only 2 weeks ago to naming an almost full 21 man squad. David Armstrong is still unavailable, but the only other gap from 2-23 is that of AJ Towse, which understandable because their already 3 wingers named in the 21 man squad. 

Umyla Hanley is close to a return after injury, and Frankie Halton and Jack Hughes both picked up knocks. I fully expect Issac Liu and Aaron Pene to be in the matchday squad.

Lammy has different headaches than Rowley this week, and it going to be interesting what selection choices he will choose.

Looking forward to the lightshow at the Brewdog Stadium, once the World Club Challenge is out of the way.

World Club Challenge Buildup

 

As a supporter of a Super League club, first and foremost and Rugby League second. The International game is of little importance amd if anything, I have more affinity with Papua New Guinea than England, with PNG having four current Internationals and a connection to former player like Nene McDonald to the Leigh Leopards.

The World Club Challenge is only ever played by the Super League Grand Final winners, and Super League has only produced 5 of them in 30 years. They are, of course, all the teams you like to hate, due to all the times they have lorded over your team down the years. Hull KR have a little more sympathy than some of the other teams that have taken part in previous challenges. 

To the best of my knowledge, Leigh and the Brisbane Broncos have no history of having played against one another, and by that logic, I am more than willing to support the Broncos for an evening. Reece Walsh, appears to be a more amiable figure than Mikey Lewis, so they get my vote.

The press are going to cover nothing else but the World Club Challenge until Friday night, when the focus will switch back to the Super League before being totally Las Vegas-centric next week. It might be easier to swallow if the season was several weeks old, but in reality everybody is still rocking from the amazing stories of Round 1, which have been cut short to focus on Hull KR and Brisbane.

Interesting that James Child on the Forty20 podcast believes that Mikey Lewis should have been red-carded for the most obvious trip in the history of the game. If that is a Yellow card, then when is a trip ever a straight Red?  The solution by the Match Review Panel, allows Mikey to play in the showcase game, but it means he is on a tightrope for the rest of the season.

Round 1 Winners and Losers

 Not a surprise for Rugby League, we have 7 winners and 7 losers and no draws. 

1. Winners - York Knights - on a fantastic opening night, York managed one of the greatest upsets in 30 years of Super League, beating the treble winners of 2025, Hull KR.

2. Losers - Hull KR - on the flip side of the opening night, the Robins expected an easy victory on the way to 2 frantic weeks, with the World Club Championship and a Super League match in Las Vegas against the Leeds Rhinos. Hull KR have a week to turn around the disappointment of the opening night and face the formidable Brisbane Broncos. Brisbane is taking this match very seriously and wants to win the trophy for Australia, after a recent period of dominance by the English clubs. Little Willie Peters has a tough job to turn around the season before it goes off the rails, before it has really started.

3. Winner - Ata Hingano apparently slotted home his first-ever drop goal. The precision and coolness of the night were a thing of rare beauty.

4. Winner - Warrington Wolves - totally unfancied after last year's drop down the table. All the talk was of Paul Rowley, Jackson Hastings, triumphant return and a treble for St Helens. Instead, Warrington won the game in the first half with a magnificent display by the young Cai Taylor-Wray. The loss of Matt Dufty is on nobody's lips in Warrington.

5. Losers - St Helens - for all the reasons above and huge expectations of this club, this was a bad night. The bad news continued the next day with the public beheading of CEO Mike Rush, who was blamed for the handling of club legend Paul Wellens sacking. James Roby, another club legend, walked away, and now Mark Percival's signed contract has mysteriously vanished. Club Captain, Matty Lees is out for 10 weeks, and now it is believed Jack Welsby will join him on the sidelines. A club in turmoil after only one week.

6. Loser - Jack Welsby - after missing a large chunk of the 2025 season, Welsby has been trying to regain the form that made him the best full-back in Super League. A relatively poor end to the season was capped by a flaccid performance in the Ashes series. A shoulder injury that will potentially see him in rehab for up to 10 weeks.

7. Losers - Leeds Rhinos - After an impressive 4-game domination of the Leigh Leopards, Leigh finally got their revenge. Much will be made of the Rhinos' weakened team and the absence of the current Man-of-Steel. It may only be the first round, but games against the teams likely to be in your vicinity come the end of the season may come back to haunt you. Without Jake Connor, Leeds failed to find any real creative spark.

8. Winner - Will Pryce - After returning from a disappointing spell in Australia, Will Pryce looks poised to take Super League 2026 by storm. A fantastic running Full-back, he just needs to remain fit and healthy for the full season.

9. Winners - Bradford Bulls - They may have lost narrowly to Hull FC, but Bradford have come away with a great deal of credit. Of course, they will not be happy until they break the duck, like all the other promoted teams have managed. Joe Mellor and Waqa Blake are the stand-outs in a losing team.

10. Winners - Toulouse Olympique - on their return to Super League pulled of one of the shocks of the round beating the much fancied Wakefield Trinity. Special mention goes to Olly Ashall-Bott, who has become a veteran at Toulouse since finding himself surplus to requirements at Huddersfield. A two try haul was just enough to get Toulouse Olympique over the line after Cesar Rouge kept hitting the woodwork with his conversions.

Dirty Leeds

 

Dirty Leeds

"The phrase is widely traced back to 1964, during a notoriously aggressive match between Leeds United and Everton at Goodison Park. The game was so physical that the referee walked off before halftime, players clashed repeatedly, and even the crowd got involved. The Football Association labelled Leeds “Dirty Leeds” because of the team’s on‑pitch conduct, and the name stuck."

I am not trying to liken the Leeds Rhinos to Leeds United of the 1964 vintage, but for a big club, they like to recruit their fair share of "Dickheads". If you think about their current squad and previous years, you might be thinking, who are you talking about? The main protagonist is normally Jake Connor, an odious man who has caused chaos and mayhem wherever he has plied his trade, but in this case I would like to present Exhibit A, Harry James Newman, the manchild from Huddersfield. Google his name, and you will be confronted with a litany of on-field exploits, designed to intimidate and rile up the opposition over the years.He is not a good loser and an even worse winner. Matt Peet a man not known for saying bad things about the opposition. Matt Peet said of Newman, "Some players you’re just not surprised when they’re involved in incidents, are you? I don’t think anyone will be surprised.”He added: “Some players carry on when they win and some don’t. Normally the ones that win often don’t.”

If this is not usual behaviour from Matt Peet, it is even more unusual for your coach highlight your flaws publicly. Arthur described Newman as “immature” when he first arrived at Leeds", but stressed that the “penny has dropped and that the centre has undergone a real transformation in attitude and professionalism." 

Has Harry Newman changed? I am guessing the fact that I am writing about him suggests not. Dispite being picked by Shaun Wane for the final Ashes match at Headingley, I would like to highlight the two Super League matches either side of the International. The Super League Play-off eliminator in which Leeds were defeated in the now famous "Right to Wright", the Sky cameras zoomed in on Newman crying with his mother. Tristan Sailor saught to console him and pat him on the back, Newman's response was to spit "F*&# Off" as Sailor turned away. 

Harry Newman was yellow‑carded in the second half of Leeds’ 26–14 loss to Leigh Leopards. Both he and Leigh’s Matt Davis were sent to the bin after a flare‑up that followed a high‑tackle penalty against Leeds.

• Newman was described as “clearly mystified” as he left the field.

From the reporting, here’s what stands out:

1. Involved in the flare‑up that triggered the cards

The confrontation after the high‑tackle penalty is what led to the double sin‑bin. Newman was one of the central figures in that exchange.

2. Visible frustration

Newman’s reaction — looking baffled and irritated as he left the field — was noted in match reports. This fits the pattern of him being an emotionally charged player, though nothing beyond the flare‑up was reported.

What the report does not highlight was that he was constantly picking a fight with his opposite number Tesi Niu. The Sin-binning was due to Newman letting the confrontations build up to that point.

It looks like this is an overspill from the season before. The report states:

1. Repeated dissent toward the referee

Multiple match reports noted that Newman was visibly frustrated, particularly in the second half. He was spoken to by the referee more than once for:

• Arguing decisions
• Gesturing after calls
• Continuing to complain after being told to move away

This didn’t lead to a card, but it did contribute to the narrative that he needed to control his emotions better.

2. A confrontation with Leigh players

Late in the game, Newman became involved in a minor confrontation after a tackle. It didn’t escalate into anything serious, but it was enough for commentators to remark that he was “boiling over” and needed to calm down.

If this is the more mature Harry Newman, then I for one can't wait for him to join the Perth Bears next season.

WTF!

 

Super League 2026 goes off with a bang. Some people are suggesting it is the biggest shock in 30 years of Super League - York Knights 19-18 Hull KR. There are some horrible rumours that the Robins asked for the RFL for this fixture as an easy start to the new campaign. If that is the case, then I am even more delighted for York, because it is utterly derogatory, and worse still, it backfired spectacularly. In all honesty, this is the best result for Super League, and will generate a mound of interest like the 0-1 Wigan defeat last season.

10 days ago, I wrote the article Leopards are Massive: Is This the End of the Big Bopper? from that post I wrote " I was struck by how Hull KR adapted the old interpretation of the rules to their benefit. Four men in the tackle, fast advancing defence, and the slowest play-the-balls against them, due to the time to untangle 4 players from the ball-carrier. Four-man tackles will regularly get pinged with the new interpretation, and with faster play-the-balls, the Hull KR defence will get beaten out of shape. On the flip-side Litten and Lewis will love the chaos created by defences that have not had time to get set." 

Hull KR did not commit 4 men into tackles, but still compressed the defensive line and made 3 man tackles. Kyle Amor reckoned that KR got pinged at least 9 times in the first half for ruck infringements. What made it worse was that the players looked incredulous when penalised. Rhyse Martin protested, saying he had his hands up, whilst loitering behind the play-the-ball (a little hint you are supposed to be 10 metres away and not interfering with play). On the flip side, Jeremy Litten enjoyed the extra time to pinch easy metres when receiving quick ball. The same cannot be said for Mikey Lewis, who was largely anonymous for most of the game. Lewis did, however, make headlines for all the wrong reasons with a petulant trip on his opposite number Liam Harris. In the old days, tripping was a red card offence. This act ultimately changed the course of the game, and at 6-18, York went on to dominate the last quarter of the game, before Ata Hingano slotted through a beautiful drop goal.

Rugby League players are not renowned for great intellectual prowess, and if you doubt me, I suggest you take a look at The Bench Podcast Jake Connor and Mikey Lewis talk Man of Steel and Vegas! | The Bench

Needless to say, little Willie Peters was not impressed with Mikey costing Hull KR the game. “You get what you deserve in this game - and we certainly did,” head coach Peters said.“Mikey, doing what he did, let his team-mates down and he’s got to learn from it, that’s for sure. It’s about actions now. He needs to make sure he doesn’t let his team-mates down like that again and learns from this.It was a silly play. It’s something we’ll make sure he gets out of his game. People have got away with that before, but you make your bed and you’ve got to lie in it.”

The next few weeks do not get any easier for Hull KR, and they need to learn quickly or face the season going off the rails before it even gets started.

Predictions are Like Arseholes. Everybody Has Got One

 

Aaron Bower has managed to get two articles in The Guardian on the eve of the start of Super League XXX nod to the Super Bowl). Super League returns and, 30 years on, it’s going back to the future | Super League | The Guardian and Super League 2026: team-by-team guide to the new season | Super League | The Guardian. I am a fan of Aaron, especially when he gets a few column inches in a daily newspaper. Below is his prediction for the Leigh Leopards:

Leigh Leopards

Had it not been for Hull KR’s treble, Leigh would have been the story of 2025. A Championship club as recently as 2022, the Leopards secured their highest finish last season, falling just short of a maiden Grand Final. They should make the top six again, but their squad looks slightly light in a couple of key areas. Injuries could leave them in trouble.

Coach Adrian Lam Captain Lachlan Lam Key player Lachlan Lam Last season 3rd Prediction 6th

Leigh, having finished 5th, 4th and 3rd and ranked the 3rd best in the competition by IMG ratings over the the 3 year period, is going to go into reverse and finish in the last slot in the play-offs. Funnily enough Aaron Bower in Love Rugby League on the 10th February - Super League predictions: Our writers tip Leeds Rhinos for title predicted that Leigh would drop out of the play-off race and finish 7th. Aaron either does not keep a tab on his own predictions, or he has changed his mind in the last 2 days. Aaron's big argument is: "They should make the top six again, but their squad looks slightly light in a couple of key areas. Injuries could leave them in trouble." The reality is Leigh has suffered injuries to key players over the last 2 seasons and still managed to find themselves in the top 4. In my opinion, the depth of the squad is much greater than that of some of their nearest rivals. Wigan, Warrington and Leeds have filled the high numbers in their squads with academy players. Leigh, on the other hand, has Super League experience down to 26. Nathan Wilde has 12 games under his belt.

Aaron Bower – Love Rugby League
1. Hull KR
2. Leeds Rhinos
3. Wigan Warriors
4. St Helens
5. Hull FC
6. Wakefield Trinity
7. Leigh Leopards
8. Catalans Dragons
9. Castleford Tigers
10. Warrington Wolves
11. Huddersfield Giants
12. York Knights
13. Toulouse Olympique
14. Bradford Bulls

Aaron Bower – Guardian
1. Hull KR
2. Leeds Rhinos
3. Wigan Warriors
4. St Helens
5. Hull FC
6. Leigh Leopards
7. Wakefield Trinity
8. Catalans Dragons
9. Castleford Tigers
10. Warrington Wolves
11. Huddersfield Giants
12. York Knights
13. Toulouse Olympique
14. Bradford Bulls

Matt Shaw – Love Rugby League
1. Leigh Leopards
2. Leeds Rhinos
3. Hull KR
4. Wigan Warriors
5. Hull FC
6. Wakefield Trinity
7. St Helens
8. Warrington Wolves
9. Catalans Dragons
10. Huddersfield Giants
11. Castleford Tigers
12. Toulouse Olympique
13. Bradford Bulls
14. York Knights

Ben Olawumi – Love Rugby League
1. Wigan Warriors
2. Leeds Rhinos
3. Hull KR
4. St Helens
5. Hull FC
6. Leigh Leopards
7. Warrington Wolves
8. Wakefield Trinity
9. Catalans Dragons
10. Castleford Tigers
11. Bradford Bulls
12. Toulouse Olympique
13. York Knights
14. Huddersfield Giants

Louis Chapman-Coombe – Love Rugby League
1. Hull KR
2. Leeds Rhinos
3. Wigan Warriors
4. St Helens
5. Wakefield Trinity
6. Leigh Leopards
7. Hull FC
8. Warrington Wolves
9. Catalans Dragons
10. Castleford Tigers
11. Huddersfield Giants
12. York Knights
13. Bradford Bulls
14. Toulouse Olympique

Will Jackson – SARL
1. Wigan Warriors
2. Hull KR
3. St Helens
4. Leeds Rhinos
5. Hull FC
6. Leigh Leopards
7. Warrington Wolves
8. Wakefield Trinity
9. Huddersfield Giants
10. Catalans Dragons
11. Castleford Tigers
12. York Knights
13. Bradford Bulls
14. Toulouse Olympique

Sam Brocksam - SARL
1. Wigan Warriors
2. ⁠Leigh Leopards
3. ⁠Hull KR
4. ⁠Leeds Rhinos
5. ⁠St Helens
6. ⁠Catalans Dragons
7. ⁠Hull FC
8. ⁠Warrington Wolves
9. ⁠Wakefield Trinity
10. ⁠Castleford Tigers
11. ⁠York Knights
12. ⁠Huddersfield Giants
13. ⁠Toulouse Olympique
14. ⁠Bradford Bulls

Sam Cook – SARL
1: Leigh Leopards
2: Wigan Warriors
3: Hull KR
4: St Helens
5: Hull FC
6: Leeds Rhinos
7: Warrington Wolves
8: Catalans Dragons
9: Wakefield Trinity
10: Huddersfield Giants
11: Castleford Tigers:
12: York Knights
13: Toulouse Olympique
14: Bradford Bulls

All Out Rugby League chickened out of full predictions.

Leigh Leopards v Leeds Rhinos - Round 1 Super League 2026

 

If Adrian Lam invites you over for Poker night, I would recommend that you politely decline. A week on from the 4th Round of the Challenge Cup, when Lammy stated that he only had 19 players available to choose from. The injured players have risen one by one like Lazarus, to create an almost 1st choice 21 man squad for the first game of the season. At first look it is an almost complete consecutive numbers down to about 19. Missing is the most obvious David Armstrong at Full-back, but Leigh fans have grown used to seeing Bailey Hodgson fill in that role. The mysterious Issac Liu returns, some believe he has been out of the country and only returned today. The Iceman is a welcome return if he is match fit, this will push the attack out +1. Ipape-Liu-Cook-Lam and suddenly the focus is on the edges. At centre Umyla Hanley has been named. The 2025 Dream Team member was expected to be out for 4 weeks, but instead he is named after only one week off.

Matt Davis and Liam Horne return to the squad after injuries. Davis was expected to return after receiving stiches at the Warrington friendly, and Horne has served his HIA protocol after being dazed and confused in the same game. Question marks still remain over Mulhern, Liu and Hanley, and it is not beyond Lammy to add them into the 21 man squad, just to give Brad Arthur something to think about.

1. Bailey Hodgson
2. Keanan Brand
3. Umyla Hanley
4. Tesi Niu
5. Josh Charnley
6. Adam Cook
7. Lochlan Lam
8. Joe Ofahengaue
9. Edwin Ipape
10. Owen Trout
11. Frankie Halton
12. Jacob Alick-Wiencke
13. Issac Liu
14. Liam Horne
15. Robbie Mulhern
16. Andrew Badrock
17. Matt Davis
18. Jack Hughes

Brad Arthur already has plenty to think about. Top of the pops, is reigning Man-of-Steel, Jake Connor, who took a knock to his knee in training, and is expected to just miss one game. prop forward Mikolaj Oledzki, who picked up a rib injury in Saturday's Challenge Cup tie at Widnes Vikings. Elsewhere, Cameron Smith is also absent after picking up a knock against Widnes. Middle forwards Keenan Palasaia and Jeremiah Mata'utia remain sidelined, while outside backs Ash Handley and Maika Sivo are still out, with long-term absentees Alfie Edgell and Max Simpson missing.

I questioned whether the Leeds squad had enough depth to it, and already we are looking at 5 players who do not currently have squad numbers. Make your own call, but the Rhinos look like a patched up side at the start of the season, even before a huge game in Las Vegas for round 3.

Crazy News Day

 

Rebuild for 2027

When Leigh builds a good team, the foundations invariably get removed from underneath them. 2024 witnessed the disbanding of the Challenge Cup-winning team, with the departures of Asiata, Amone and O'Donnell. 2026 will see the pack decimated by Mulhern and Trout leaving for new adventures. Owen Trout electing to move to the Cronula Sharks is a bit easier to understand than Robbie Mulhern choosing to go to Castleford. Good luck Owen you deserve your chance in the NRL.

The Leopards, on the other hand, are left trying to find British props in a competitive Super League market. The overseas quota space will need to be filled by a dynamic Prop, ready to come straight into the starting 13. Lammy's focus needs to switch to the remaining players who are out of contract at the end of the season. Umyla Hanley was the success story, but losing Mulhern and Trout makes it imperative that Bailey Hodgson remains at the club. As discussed yesterday, there are questions over Issac Liu Leopards are Massive: Where is Issac Liu?

Leigh Leopards are Underdogs!

Predictions from the pundits and journalist time. With the Super League launch set for kick-off on Thursday, it is compulsory to make predictions about how the upcoming season will pan out. In essence, most people are of the opinion that the top 6 is between 9 different clubs. It is, of course, guesswork and not real analysis as for were the teams will finally settle. The betting odds for the top 4 are as follows:

• 1st Place: Wigan Warriors – 2/1
• 2nd Place: Hull KR – 11/5
• 3rd Place: Leeds Rhinos – 11/2
• 4th Place: St Helens – 7/1

Picking Wigan, Saints and Leeds would appear on any prediction list from the last 30 years. In many ways, it is lazy punditry. Hull KR, of course, must be in the reckoning having managed the incredible feat of attaining the treble. 

In 2022, St Helens won their fourth final in a row, but the team has been in decline since. 2023 saw them finish in 3rd on the same points as Wigan and Catalans. In 2024, they only just managed to squeeze into the play-offs on the same points as Catalans Dragons, who finished 7th. St Helens were 12 points off 2nd place Hull KR. The Saints won only 15 games out of 27, far below the expectations of their fans. 2025 was another disappointing season with a slightly more acceptable 17 wins out of 27 games. A change of coach and a large-scale recruitment (for St Helens), and now everybody expects them to be winners again. Saints have recruited well in Klemmer and Hastings, but have lost the rock of the team with the departure of Morgan Knowles. The team are expected to attack from any position, but in the last few years, the Saints have relied on defence. Changing tack will come with it's own dangers, and somebody is going to have to make up for the 40+ tackles Knowles would make in a game. The biggest issues with St Helens in the last few years are a lack of a cutting edge in attack and the lack of a settled spine. Lomax is still at the club, but he may be an unsettling influence on the team. Alex Walmsley and Mark Percival are likely to be on the wane. Not surprisingly, Percival has been offered to other clubs to keep out of the way. Welsby appears to be the chosen Full-back but last season he was well below his usual high standard. The Ashes highlighted a player struggling mentally and physically. Tristan Sailor is not a winger or a stand-off. His only major skill appears to be blistering pace. He offers very little in defence, and teams will target his channel. Jackson Hastings will be the lightning rod for the team, but after a number of years back in the NRL, he is not the player he once was. There is talent throughout this squad, but there are also weaknesses. They will probably relish piling the points on the bottom 6 teams, but history suggests they now struggle against the top 4 and Warrington. There are just too many question marks against this team to assume that the Saints are back. As a side issue, the new captain Matty Lees is set to missthe first 8 weeks of the season.

Love Rugby League are just typical of lazy punditry - Super League predictions: Our writers tip Leeds Rhinos for title. Leeds Rhinos are another team the pundits love to love. In reality, they have had a rubbish decade so far, and are still grappling with the issues of salary cap and NRL poaching. They have a team to compete with anybody, but the squad appears to have a large number of academy players who are not quite ready to make the step up. Without injuries, they are incredibly dangerous, but if required to delve into the lower squad numbers, they might well struggle.

Aaron Bower has followed a familiar trope and suggests that Leigh Leopards will slip out of the play-offs (hopefully, Aaron wants a Derek Humble Pie). Matt Shaw oddly mirrors my predictions with Leigh to finish top and Wigan to drop out of the top 2. I was not brave enough to make the call that the Grand Finalists of the last two seasons would both finish without home sem-finals.

What is Lammy Talking About?

Love Rugby League Leigh Leopards boss bemoans ruck speed rule changes for 2026 interview with Adrian Lam. I have read the law changes but I have no idea what he is complaining about. 

"It was confirmed ahead of the start of the 2026 campaign that players would now be forbidden from encroaching within ten metres of any opponent that is waiting for the ball. They must also surrender when an opponent gains possession of the ball."

Lying on the ruck is a straightforward issue, and I am happy with how it is officiated in 2026. Not sure how Lammy thinks the game was fast enough last season, or why lying on the floor behind the play the ball is considered to be ok.

Where is Issac Liu?

 

Not a murder mystery, but as usual, Adrian Lam has been quite cryptic. Here is where the confusion arises, Adrian Lam said last week, "Of our 30-man squad, there are 11 unavailable and only 19 available" So far so good. "We’ve only got 19 to choose from for this week; there are ten players out."

From that conversation, we know the 19-man squad that was named for the trip to Colwyn Bay:

1. Bailey Hodgson
2. Innes Senior 
3. Tesi Niu 
4. Keanan Brand
5. Josh Charnley
6. Adam Cook 
7. Lachlan Lam
8. Robbie Mulhern
9. Edwin Ipape
10. Owen Trout
11. Frankie Halton
12. Jacob Alick-Wiencke
13. Jack Hughes
14. Andrew Badrock
15. Ben McNamara 
16. Nathan Wilde
17. Gareth O’Brien
18. AJ Towse
19. Ryan Brown

On top of that, we have the 4 injured against Warrington the week before:

1. Umyal Hanley (Rotator Cuff)
2. Joe Ofahengaue (3 teeth and HIA)
3. Liam Horne (HIA)
4. Matt Davis (Gash on leg with stitches)

Already missing from the friendly against Warrington:

1. Aaron Pene
2. Issac Liu
3. Louis Brogan (Injured)
4. David Armstrong (Injured - ACL)

Status Unknown:

1. Kavan Rothwell
2. Will Brough
3. Oliver Polec

The finger appears to be pointing at Aaron Pene or Issac Liu. The final piece of the jigsaw was the clue on the Leopards website, and the men's team photos.

Everybody has a photo, with the exception of Issac. If Issac has gone back to Australia, Samoa or New Zealand for personal reasons, then what is the big issue? The public have no right to know why, but if a star player is not available we should have some idea in which round to expect him back. Not because we are nosy we just want to see the strongest team available at the start of the season, especially as we face Leeds, St Helens and Wigan as the first 3 games.

North Wales Crusaders v Leigh Leopards, 7th February 2026, Challenge Cup Round 3

 

Competitive Rugby League is back! First things first, I was almost right about the match day squad. Leopards are Massive: Bring Yer Boots (You Might Get a Game). Will Brough was not included, and Ryan Brown was added due to the need to add forwards. Ben McNamara stepped down to 18th man with Gaz O'Brien entering the fray as the replacement dummy half to give Edward Ipape a rest.

A review of the backs, Bailey Hodgson was strong on carries, Tesi Niu was very quiet, but Josh Charnley was busy and collected a brace of tries. Keenan Brand, however, seems to have let last season's performances get to his head. He needs to knuckle down and complete the basics; at least he didn't get sin-binned this week. 

At half-back, Adam Cook and Lockie Lam are still working on combinations, but the new secret weapon in the Leopards' armoury is the left boot of Cooky. Standard end of sets are producing towering kicks into the corner, with plenty of time for the advancing players to get into position. There is still a reluctance to challenge for the ball, preferring to play the percentages and nail the catcher before he can start to move. A booming 30-10 kick from Cook was the highlight of his night, but his goal kicking will be the most important thing that he brings to the Leopards this season.  Lockie was much more fluid, but it took at least 20 minutes to find his feet. A brace of tries topped off a solid performance.

Forwards, a 20 minute stint from both Robbie Mulhern and Owen Trout, with more minutes in the legs,  both should be fully fit for a Super League opener next week. The second row both played 80 minutes, with Jacob Alick putting in a stint and looking a little more assured as the starting player he is supposed to be. Frankie Halton ran hard all night, but dropped at least one on the night; it was a good stint.

The reserve props Nathan Wilde and Ryan Brown (the Bash Brothers) played long minutes, with some good aspects; both might be ready for appearances on the bench in the coming weeks. The pick of the subs goes to Andrew Badrock, and if the BBC are correct, he scored a wonder try at the end, with incredible balance and perseverance. Gaz O'Brien offered good distribution from dummy half, but looked far more comfortable when moved to full-back for the last 10 minutes.

Rumours of a sell-out at the Eirias Stadium, appear to have been very wide of the mark. The travelling army of Leopards fans had a good evening on the coast, without too much jeopardy. Any signs of a banana skin were soon allayed, with Leigh firmly encamped in the Crusaders' red zone.

Adrian Lam, in the post-match interview, stated, "I couldn't have hoped for any more." 

Highlights | North Wales Crusaders vs Leigh Leopards | Challenge Cup

Strategic Review

 

Hold on to your hats, it was 12 months in the making, but now the Strategic Review has finally been released. RL Club-Led Strategic Review v3 (1).indd

Most of the juicy titbits have already been released, but I will attempt to extract the content that caught my eye.

Salary Cap

I never mentioned the words Salary Cap before, so here is what is in the review:

42. The Salary Cap should be simplified to ensure all actual costs relating to players are covered within the scope of the regulations. It should be policed. The level of the cap should be correlated with the levels of central distribution. Actual costs, so this needs to include cleaning jobs performed (or not performed) by spouses. Marwan Koukash got hit with fines for buying cars for his best players.

43. The sport should consider re-introducing a live Salary Cap system once all commercial and investment matters are known. This should link to a strategic plan for player costs. I thought that a live Salary Cap system was already in place.

44. Clubs should be able to sign a maximum of two marquee players as per the current regulations, but such players must be made available to work with RL Commercial on commercial, media and other engagements. A maximum of two marquee players as per the current regulations - pretty sure the system was modified to allow a 3rd marquee as long as he was club-developed talent. French and Field are going to be very busy doing turns for the RFL. As a matter of transparency, every club should announce their Marquee signings.

Women's Rugby League

59. There is a need to improve the standard of player and athlete welfare offered in the Women’s Super League. There is a need to pay them properly, but that is not going to happen because the sport is not financially viable.

Challenge Cup

64. Men’s Super League clubs should enter at the round of 32. They should be seeded and drawn away from home. This has already been in operation for the last two seasons.

66. Across the centre and at clubs, more thought, budget and resource is needed to promote the Challenge Cup. Yes it should. The Challenge Cup has been neglected for years. For some clubs, the Challenge Cup is still very important. The Leigh Leopards spent a year taking it out into the community at every possibility.

67. Consideration should be given to the creation of a ‘Magic Weekend-style’ round of the Challenge Cup to truly put the magic back into the competition. This would ideally be the Round of 16, creating a new event and broadcast product. This is one of the better solutions to the Magic Weekend conundrum. Moving to 14 teams to eliminate a loop fixture and then putting one back in for Magic Weekend. The current Magic Weekend to be held at Hill-Dickinson stadium is selling very well, due to the venue and the rivals round format. 

69. There should be a fixed date in the calendar for the final. Nice idea in principle, but if they decide to move it away from Wembley, that would cause issues finding a permanent home at an alternative Football Stadium.

70. The sport should consider a new venue for the final. (see 69)

Player production

91 Consideration should be given to reducing the number of elite Academies playing in the professional structure. These clubs should have to meet strict standards of player development and output, and be properly staffed and funded. Reducing the number of elite Academies - this has created more inequalities in the game than anything else. Leigh Leopards have often been criticised for not producing any future stars of the game. At various times, the club has not been able to afford to run an academy and also the RFL have denied the club a license due to all the licenses being assigned. Why should there be a set number of Academies? Is it due to the proximity to the Piedome? It would be interesting if Brad O'Neill and Jack Farrimond had been through an Academy at Leigh. Let's reduce the Academies to Wigan, St Helens, Warrington and Leeds and then wonder why the Super League Grand final was only won by 4 teams until last year. No thanks. The sensible solution would be to take the Academies out of the club hands, into regional centres of excellence. This creates another problem when it comes to signing for professional clubs. If the current system is kept in place, there needs to be protection for the clubs that nurtured the young players. At the end of last season, Wigan and St Helens went to war over the next crop of youngsters, trading players in a tit for tat exchange. Under 21's should stay contractually under the wings of the parent club, as long as the big clubs do not abuse the system and treat the players like chattel.

92 Encouragement should be given to regional Academies being set up between consenting clubs to improve the offer to young players and to widen player pools. Yes, but who funds the regional academies?

95 In the short term, there should be increased access to overseas talent pools. Expansion in Super League and NRL has resulted in a land grab. Super League grab the Under 25 talent from the State Cup sides, and the new NRL teams raid Leigh and Leeds. The search will branch out to other clubs, but for now it was totally necessary to increase the overseas quota to 10.

97. There should be a review of the current welfare and support functions for players. A strategy to better fund welfare and provide a Player Association function paid for by those that use it should be developed and operationalised. This should be primarily funded by the players themselves or through commercial fundraising activity. A plan should include medical provision, welfare and wellbeing, and could act for players on contractual matters. An absolute no-brainer. Mandatory contributions from all players, Clubs and the RFL. If you are opposed to the term Union, then call it a Players Association. 

The contest, broadcast, product and season schedule

98 There should be new events and broadcast packages created to improve broadcast revenues. As a Rugby League fan, I pay for Skysports, but in reality I am subsidising Football fans. The large bulk of the TV revenue goes straight to the EFL Premier League. My household watches Rugby League, Darts and Cricket (no football). Put the sports on a dedicated channel and reduce my bill by removing the Football channels. The cost might not be so high if the Firestick users were caught and had to pay fines.

99 Consideration should be given to events that showcase different attributes of players including Rugby League 9s and other linked sports provided such events are strategically delivered and financially sustainable in the medium term. Not enough room in the season. No Club would want to risk their players in an exhibition-style tournament. Make it an Olympic sport, and then people might be interested. 

100 The sport should consider starting the season with a match between the Challenge Cup winners and the Grand Final winners to raise money for the sport’s charity, Rugby League Cares. Nice idea, but played in January (no thanks).

102 The sport must ensure there is a balance between free to air, subscription TV and streaming broadcast rights. Market Segmentation, this used to be about competition, but in reality, it is about the fan forking out multiple subscriptions for a product they used to get in one place.

105 There should be a new strategy for Super League Plus to make the sport a 24/7 accessible product and showcase additional matches from other Rugby League competitions, podcasts and other shoulder content, including press conferences, disciplinary hearings and other behind-the-scenes material. This should include using the platform to showcase players as fully-rounded people, celebrate history and traditions of the sport and create new programmes for younger audiences. More content, yes please.

106 The calendar should be redrafted to create peaks for the sport and ensure that data is used to place important matches at times of peak viewership. The calendar should also avoid clashes with other significant sporting or public events. Nice idea in principle, but good luck scheduling that. They have enough problems with resurfacing Football pitches and playing away for weeks on end. Starting the season at the same time as the 6 Nations is also not good planning, but it can't be avoided.

107 Tier 2 should consider amending its season so that it has a period in the calendar where that competition has all Rugby League eyes focused on it. Televised Championship Rugby in the winter months. Not sure there is a demand for snowy and muddy pitches.

109 Laws and Policy should aim to speed up the contest both in actual time and the speed at which it is played, and should attempt to make the collision as physical as possible whilst maintaining player safety. Faster ruck speeds - implemented.

112 Work should be done with broadcast and commercial partners to use technology and data during and after the contest to bring the sport closer to the fans, tell more insightful stories and drive new and better revenue streams. Yes

113 Changes to disciplinary regulations should be implemented with the aim to keep more players on the field whilst punishing repeat infringers and protecting players from serious foul play. The purpose of the disciplinary panels and processes should not be to re-referee each incident. Neither should it be beneficial to the bigger clubs.