Leigh Leopards boss addresses links to Papua New Guinea forward following NRL exit
Jacob Alick-Wiencke in action for Gold Coast Titans in 2024
Leigh Leopards boss Adrian Lam has admitted they are interested in Papua New Guinea international Jacob Alick-Wiencke, revealing that he has tracked the forward since he was a teenager.
Alick-Wiencke, who represents the Kumuls on the international front via his heritage with his late grandmother having been born in Daru, is now on the market as a free agent.
He has spent his entire career to date at club level with Gold Coast Titans, making his first-grade bow in July 2023 against the Dolphins.
But with a total of 19 NRL appearances on his CV, the Titans announced last week that he was one of seven players departing.
Leigh Leopards boss addresses links to Papua New Guinea forward following NRL exit
All Out Rugby League reported earlier this month that the forward, who most commonly slots into the back-row, was nearing a move to Super League with Leigh.
Leopards head coach Lam knows Alick-Wiencke well through their Kumuls connection, with a number of his players including son Lachlan also having played alongside him on the international scene.
Addressing Leigh’s links with him, Lam said: “We’re always going to be linked to Jacob because he’s from PNG and that’s my heritage.
“But I have been tracking Jacob since he was a 17-year-old, I’ve watched him come through all of the different divisions and at the Gold Coast (Titans).
“I’ve known him for quite a while, and that helps if you’re communicating with players.”
Leigh have started to make their end-of-season announcements this week, with the contract extensions of both Gareth O’Brien and Jack Hughes for 2026 now confirmed.
Lam continued: “Our first year up in Super League (in 2023), it was 13 changes to the squad, then 12 last year, and I think there’ll probably be half a dozen or so next year.
“We’ll make those announcements when we’re ready, but we’re certainly growing the team to a stage where we can compete at the top level.
“I know we’ve finished third this year, and we’ve achieved something we’ve never done before, but we’re not happy with just finishing here.
“We need to keep growing, keep developing, keep improving our rugby, and that retention and recruitment element helps towards that.”
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