Derek Beaumont makes frank admission on Leigh Leopards’ 13 off-contract stars

Leigh owner Derek Beaumont has admitted that the Leopards will not be able to keep hold of all of their biggest stars come 2027 due to restrictions around Super League’s salary cap.

As things stand, the Leopards head into the 2026 campaign with 13 players in their squad that are into the final year of their current deals with the club.

That list includes veteran pair Josh Charnley and Gareth O’Brien, who are nearing the end of their careers, with both only having penned one-year extensions for 2026.

But both of those have been virtual ever-presents in the Leopards’ squad over the last few years, and there are plenty in the same category on the off-contract list: who can already sign deals elsewhere for 2027 and beyond, should they wish to.

Reports have already circled that prop Robbie Mulhern, another on the list, is being touted for a shock NRL move in 12 months’ time.

And while there’s no further update on that particular line of interest, Leigh owner Beaumont has provided an honest assessment of where they’re at in terms of retentions.

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Derek Beaumont makes frank admission on Leigh Leopards’ 13 off-contract stars

Charnley, O’Brien and Mulhern are joined on the off-contract list by Ryan Brown, Matt Davis, Umyla Hanley, Bailey Hodgson, Jack Hughes, Isaac Liu, Brad Martin, Ben McNamara, Owen Trout and Aaron Pene.

Speaking to a selection of media – including LoveRugbyLeague – earlier this month, Beaumont explained: “It’s obviously a salary cap sport and that’s going to be getting more and more difficult now.

“Every club can target one of your players to make them a marquee.

“You can only have the three marquees, so that’s going to be a tough one with some of the players coming up (to the end of their contract) at the end of the 2026 season.

“They’re on contracts that, to be fair, they’re outperforming. But you can only go so far with the cap.”

Though the Leopards must decide which of the 13 off-contract men they want to keep on their books for 2027, they must remain focused on what lies ahead in 2026.

Head coach Adrian Lam has brought in five new recruits thus far and has Delaine Gittens-Bedward on trial attempting to earn a full-time deal with the Super League club ahead of next season.

Beaumont has confirmed that will be that for now in terms of incomings, detailing: “I think that’s us. I’m not saying we won’t change things if we need to anywhere.

“Lammy’s smart, he makes players better, so just naturally by progression I think we’d be a better team next year if we still had the same squad as last year.

“But he identifies areas where he thinks we need to add a bit more strength or depth. There’s some serious competition, and that just drives standards higher.

“We’re settled with what we’ve got and we’re spent up with what we’ve got, we literally are on the last penny.”