Joe Ofahengaue’s impact on Super League lauded after latest Leigh masterclass

Joe Ofahengaue was described as a ‘real quality addition to Super League’ by York Knights boss Mark Applegarth following his latest masterclass for Leigh Leopards.

Friday night saw Leigh edge out York, emerging as 22-14 victors from a tight contest at the Leopards’ Den to make it 12 wins in 15 games and take a step closer to cementing their play-off spot for a fourth season on the spin.

Front-rower Ofahengaue was the best player on the pitch, as he was back in April when Leigh came out on top in the reverse fixture at the LNER Community Stadium, another hard-fought affair.

Scooping the Player of the Match medal from Sky Sports following another ferocious display which included a well-deserved first half try, the veteran ex-Tonga international has gained plaudits aplenty throughout 2026 so far.

‘Joffa has been inspirational, one of the best front-rowers in Super League this year’

Auckland-born Ofahengaue – who will turn 31 next month – arrived at Leigh midway through the 2025 campaign from NRL outfit Parramatta Eels, and has fast made himself a cult hero at the Leopards’ Den.

Following Friday night’s game, York head coach Applegarth said: “He’s class, a great player.

“I think he got the man-of-the-match the last time we played them as well.

“He’s been a real quality addition to the league and a great player for Leigh.”

With first-grade appearances on his CV for Brisbane Broncos and Wests Tigers as well as the Eels, Ofahengaue’s CV shows over 200 NRL appearances as well as three games at State of Origin level for Queensland between 2019 and 2021.

He has now scored eight tries in 36 appearances across all competitions for Leigh, who this year hope to go one better than the last two seasons by reaching Old Trafford for the first time in their history and competing in the Super League Grand Final.

Leopards head coach Adrian Lam added: “I thought Joe Ofahengaue was brilliant.

“He (Ofahengaue) is awesome. He looks like he can play 80 minutes, and maybe I need to do that, but he’s looking at me sometimes on the bench as if to say, ‘I’m gone, get me off here!’

“He’s been awesome. We’ve been rotating the middles over the last couple of weeks just to give them a bit of down time, (that’s why) Isaac Liu started on the bench tonight, because he’s played some big minutes.

“But Joffa has been inspirational, one of the best front-rowers in Super League this year.”