Former Leigh Leopards star lands new deal Down Under for 2026
Ben Nakubuwai in action for Leigh Leopards in 2024
Former Leigh Leopards prop Ben Nakubuwai has penned a contract extension with Queensland Cup outfit Norths Devils for 2026.
16-time Fiji international Nakubuwai – who will turn 30 in March – first appeared in Super League with Salford Red Devils between 2018 and 2019.
He went on to return to the British game with Leigh in 2022, helping Adrian Lam’s side to the Championship title as well as the 1895 Cup and League Leaders’ Shield in the second tier that year.
Going on to feature in the Leopards’ 2023 Challenge Cup final triumph over Hull KR at Wembley, Nakubuwai also had a loan stint back in the Championship at Featherstone Rovers in 2024 before heading back Down Under earlier this year.
Returning to the Q Cup with Norths Devils, who he had already played 15 games for earlier in his career, the Suva-born forward has now extended his stay by inking a new one-year deal.
Former Leigh Leopards star Ben Nakubuwai lands new deal Down Under for 2026
Including the two NRL games he played for Gold Coast Titans back in 2017, Nakubuwai has 105 first-grade club appearances under his belt, with seven tries scored.
That tally includes one try for the Titans, who he crashed over the whitewash for on debut against Parramatta Eels.
He also has 46 games at second-grade level Down Under to his name having featured in both the Q Cup and New South Wales Cup between Sunshine Coast Falcons, Tweed Seagulls, Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles and current club Norths Devils.
On the international stage, the powerhouse – who played in both the 2017 and delayed 2021 Rugby League World Cups – has notched five tries in his 16 appearances after making his bow for the Bati in 2016 against Papua New Guinea.
Norths announced his new contract via social media earlier this week, posting on Instagram (@northsdevilsrlfc): “Locked in for 2026! Ben Nakubuwai re-signs!”