Leigh Leopards close in on Kai O’Donnell but face transfer caveat
Kai O’Donnell will return to Super League with Leigh Leopards, if he ultimately decides to return to the competition.
The back-rower, who had an immensely successful three-year spell with the Leopards before returning to the NRL, is off contract at the end of the season and currently without a deal for next season.
Given his form while playing for the Leopards, a stack of Super League clubs had been chasing the signature of the 27-year-old heading into 2027.
But Love Rugby League has been informed that O’Donnell has now decided that he will re-sign for Leigh should he ultimately make the decision to make his way back to the UK next season.
Leigh’s waiting game on O’Donnell
The catch is that, for now, O’Donnell remains keen on pursuing option in the NRL, having earned his opportunity with North Queensland Cowboys heading into the 2025 season.
He played regularly for the Cowboys last season, making 18 appearances, but this year his opportunities have become less frequent, playing just five games for so far this season, also featuring in the Queensland Cup. His time in Townsville appears to be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t interest elsewhere in the NRL, and that is something his management have been pursuing recently while also entertaining Super League options.
O’Donnell debuted in the NRL for Canberra Raiders back in 2020 before joining Leigh in 2022 while they were still in the Championship. After earning promotion, O’Donnell was part of the Leopards side that won the Challenge Cup Final in 2023. A year later, O’Donnell scored 12 tries in 29 appearances as Leigh made the play-offs for a second consecutive year, reaching the semi-finals.
That earned him a move to the Cowboys, but now a new move awaits, it just remains to be seen where.
Leigh’s recruitment plans
For Leigh, his acquisition would be massive. They are losing both Robbie Mulhern and Owen Trout at the end of the season to Castleford Tigers and Cronulla Sharks respectively, and have been looking for major replacements since. That has seen them look at their middle unit for reinforcement, something they have already started after signing Lazarus Vaalepu from Melbourne Storm in an immediate mid-season pick-up.
Leigh are expected to make further additions heading into 2027, and they now hope that O’Donnell will be one of them.
Jack Hughes, Isaac Liu, Brad Martin and Aaron Pene are forwards all off-contract at the end of the season, with Pene expected to leave at the conclusion of the season. Alongside Mulhern and Trout, Leigh have also lost Ben McNamara and Bailey Hodgson heading into next year after they agreed to join Castleford and Hull FC respectively.
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