Headhunters (and not the PNG variety)

 

Two weeks until the start of the 2026 season, we are still dealing with recruitment and retention for 2027. Leopards are Massive: Salary Cap, Retention & Recruitment written less than two weeks ago is already out of date.

Players and agents have a full year to negotiate the next move or new contract. Most of the current activity is based around Leeds and Leigh, two clubs that finished in the top 4 last season. Leeds have seen James McDonnell and Harry Newman get NRL booty calls from the newly formed Perth Bears. Former Leeds captain Cam Smith is going to the slightly less glamorous Wakefield Trinity. In previous years, you might have expected these kinds of players to see out their playing days at a large club like Leeds. The Rhinos are no longer exempt from having players headhunted.

Leigh Leopards are a few weeks behind the curve, although they did see Ethan O'Neill choose Headingley for the new season despite still having a year left on his contract. Rumours suggest a falling out, and  Lammy can be just as ruthless as Willie Peters if people are not toeing the line. Leigh have had to deal with survival uncertainty since being promoted. Contracts of two years became the norm, with neither club nor player wanting to commit to longer deals. With security comes longer contracts; the best example is Edwin Ipape, who signed with Leigh until the end of the 2031 season. Wigan have mitigated against the NRL clubs raiding all their young talent, including Brad O'Neill, Jake Wardle Kaide Ellis, Sam Walters and in much demand Junior Nsemba.

Leigh have managed to secure Umyla Hanley, but lost Robbie Mulhern to the Castleford Tigers. Chris Chester, with his insider knowledge manged to secure Mulhern. From the outside, the deciding factors would appear to be a return to West Yorkshire and a lengthy contract at 3 years. This will take Robbie to his 35th birthday, and a date with destiny as to whether to retire or continue. Leigh have often chosen the safer option with contract lengths when players are in their thirties. John Asiata, when aged 31, was offered a 3-year contract with Hull FC or a 2-year contract at Leigh. John has missed chunks of the last two seasons, and it remains to be seen whether Leigh or Hull FC got that call right.

Owen Trout appeared to have agreed terms with Leigh 2 weeks ago. The contract remains unsigned, and interest has come from both the NRL and Super League. Gut feeling suggests he is probably heading to the Southern Hemisphere for next year, with Cronulla Sharks and Perth Bears both expressing an interest. 

Lammy remains relatively chilled about the situation, as he did when Leigh lost Tom Amone, Kai O'Donnell, Zak Hardaker and John Asiata. The policy is to bring young talent under the age of 25, from the Australian Cup competitions. Leeds, by contrast, will look to the academy to blood some more youngsters.

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.