New Leigh recruit Lazarus Vaalepu sent on Championship loan

Recent Leigh Leopards recruit Lazarus Vaalepu will play on loan for Oldham in the Championship this weekend, Love Rugby League can reveal.

Mid-season recruit Vaalepu arrived at the Leopards’ Den in early July, with his 12 NRL appearances for Melbourne Storm including one in the 2024 Grand Final.

Leigh had hoped the the 27-year-old, a two-time Samoa international, would bolster their push to cement a Super League play-off spot as they look to reach Old Trafford for the first time.

But it has been a slow start to life in Super League for Vaalepu, who has not hit the ground running in any of his four appearances for the club so far.

New Leigh recruit Lazarus Vaalepu sent on Championship loan following slow start

Having penned an initial 18-month deal until the end of the 2027 season, with an option in the club’s favour to extend that stay for a further 12 months, all four of his appearances so far have seen him come off the bench for Adrian Lam’s side.

Last weekend’s 15-minute second half stint in defeat at home against neighbours Wigan produced a nightmare for the Penrith-born prop, whose first involvement saw him gift the Warriors a try with a poor offload.

Leigh – who have won 11 of their last 14 games – host Super League new boys York Knights on Friday evening, and notably, Vaalepu was omitted from head coach Lam’s 21-man squad: which was announced on Wednesday.

LoveRugbyLeague have since learned that omission from the 21-man squad owes to a loan switch, with the overseas man heading to Oldham in a bid to up his minutes on the field.

Vaalepu joins Alan Kilshaw’s Roughyeds for Sunday afternoon’s home Championship clash against Sheffield Eagles at Boundary Park.

Oldham sit third on the Championship ladder heading into this weekend’s action, and have just four games remaining in the regular season before the play-offs roll around.

As with all loans, Vaalepu’s stint with the Roughyeds could be extended on a week-by-week basis, should both they and parent club Leigh see fit.

At this stage however, it’s understood Vaalepu’s loan is only intended to be for the one week, with Oldham able to guarantee him bigger minutes than he has managed on the field in his short stint with Leigh thus far.