Leigh Leopards coach addresses Perth Bears transfer threat as honest admission made

Leigh boss Adrian Lam believes that Perth Bears’ entry into the NRL in 2027 will mean the game’s talent pool is stretched, and admitted the Leopards may well adapt their strategy accordingly.

After months of speculation and expectation, Perth‘s NRL status was officially confirmed earlier this week.

The new franchise Down Under are yet to appoint their new head coach, but sooner rather than later, the wheels will be put in motion and a squad will begin to be assembled in preparation for 2027.

Papua New Guinea’s NRL franchise, which will come to fruition in 2028, will follow suit.

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Leigh Leopards coach addresses Perth Bears transfer threat as honest admission made

The Leopards themselves have a number of players who are off-contract come the end of 2026, including Umyla Hanley, Robbie Mulhern, Isaac Liu, Alec Tuitavake and Ethan O’Neill.

While it’s unlikely that some of the above would be considered by Perth, they fall into the category of those under threat in terms of being poached, even more so with a new club entering the mix Down Under.

That will be the case across every single Super League club.

When asked about the threat Perth pose in that regard, Leopards boss Lam said: “I think every club will have to have some kind of strategy moving forward because the PNG team comes in (to the NRL) in 2028, too.

“The talent pool is going to get stretched in all different ways, and I think every club will have a strategy or a plan, us included.

“That’s one thing we’re pretty excited about.

“We’ve now got an academy and a reserve grade side that we never had before. There’s also a scholarship that’s underway, so all with all of those, we’re doing things in every single area of the performance side of the club.

“We’re ticking all of the boxes there.”

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