Adrian Lam addresses Chris Chester’s Leigh Leopards departure as outgoing chief hailed

Leigh Leopards boss Adrian Lam has lauded outgoing Head of Rugby Chris Chester, who is expected to leave the club for pastures new imminently.

Chester was appointed by Leigh back in September 2021, with the club then still under the ‘Centurions’ tagline and having just been relegated from Super League.

The appointment as Head of Rugby came just seven weeks after Chester had vacated his role as head coach of hometown club Wakefield Trinity.

Having appointed Lam as Leigh‘s new head coach of 2022, the pair have masterminded the most successful period in the club’s recent history.

But three-and-a-half-years on, he is believed to be on his way out of the exit door at the Leopards’ Den, with numerous job offers on the table from fellow Super League clubs based in Yorkshire.

LRL RECOMMENDS: Leigh Leopards coach reveals injury crisis ahead of Magic Weekend as SEVEN stars sidelined

Adrian Lam addresses Chris Chester’s Leigh Leopards departure as outgoing chief hailed

Working alongside Chester, who has headed up Leigh’s recruitment since his arrival, Lam led Leigh to a treble-winning campaign in the Championship.

Upon their return to Super League, the club adopted the ‘Leopards’ tagline and then lifted the Challenge Cup before securing successive play-off spots in the top-flight.

When asked about Chester in his pre-match press conference ahead of their Magic Weekend clash against Catalans Dragons, Leigh head coach Lam said: “I’m not too sure officially what I can say on it.

“All I know is that I played with Chris Chester as a player and I’ve worked here with him, and what we’ve done together here collectively as a group has been unbelievable.

“We’re very close mates and what we’ve built here at the club to this point has been unbelievable. The journey has been unbelievable.

“I’m not sure what it is officially that’s out there, but we’re still great mate regardless of what ends up happening.”

LRL RECOMMENDS: Ranking every Super League coach by career win percentage with clear winner