The 10 Leigh players heading for open market later this year including star duo

We’re entering the second half of the 2026 Super League season – which means a pivotal moment in the recruitment cycle is also starting to approach on the horizon.

From December 1 of this year, any player that is entering the final 12 months of their contract at their existing club is free to negotiate with rival sides in regards to a move elsewhere for 2028 and beyond.

We’ve already seen a number of clubs lock in players for the following season well in advance of it getting underway, with a plethora of stars having already agreed to terms for 2027 at new clubs several months ago.

And at Leigh Leopards, it’s fair to say there’s plenty of work to get through on the contract front, with at least ten first-team players known to be entering the final year of their current contract come 2027.

Here, we go through those ten and break them down into various categories…

Keep at all costs

Leigh will, you assume, do everything in their power to keep the star duo of David Armstrong and Lachlan Lam around beyond the end of 2027.

Head coach Adrian’s contract is also set to expire next year, and many players will want to know whether he’ll be in charge before they extend, but the influence there for son Lachlan is clear for all to see.

Elsewhere, the Leopards will definitely want to keep local lads Louis Brogan and Frankie Halton around, but you’d wager the cost to do so will increase given their performances in recent months.

Tesi Niu is another who Leigh appear likely to try and tie down, providing he can find form again in 2027 after his ligament damage.

Wait and see

A couple of names fit this box for us.

Innes Senior has enjoyed a great start to life in a Leigh shirt having joined ahead of this season, and if he carries on in the same vein of form, it’s hard to see the club not wanting to extend his stay. But that is still to be seen.

Recent recruit Lazarus Vaalepu will build steadily, and you’d hope to see the best of him next season. The Leopards have a 12-month extension in their favour in his deal.

Youngsters with promise

AJ Towse is well liked by head coach Lam, and has shown reliability whenever called upon: but his pathway into becoming a regular first-teamer is blocked at present and may continue to be next season if Josh Charnley re-signs.

Will Brough made his Super League debut earlier this season and is another who is highly rated by those behind the scenes at the Leopards’ Den.

There’s confusion over whether his current deal expires in 2026 or 2027, but either way, there appears to be enough promise there to warrant an extension: unless he can find more regular game time elsewhere, of course.

Time may be up

Nathan Wilde‘s deal has only recently been extended until the end of next season, but he’ll turn 27 come December and has played just three games across all competitions for Leigh since the start of 2024.

It’s hard to see him breaking through into the Leopards’ pack at present, and unless that happens next year, it may be the end of the road for him at the club.

2026 contract expiry/Unknown

We already know Bailey Hodgson is going to Hull FC, with Owen Trout heading Down Under to join NRL outfit Cronulla Sharks and Robbie Mulhern joining Castleford Tigers alongside Ben McNamara.

Gareth O’Brien is expected to retire, and Aaron Pene won’t be sticking around.

Ryan Brown has been handed a new deal, but it hasn’t been confirmed yet how long that is for, and the contract status of Kavan Rothwell is unclear.

That leaves four players for Leigh to make contract decisions on before the end of the current campaign: Josh Charnley, Matt Davis, Jack Hughes and Isaac Liu.