Leigh Leopards star Edwin Ipape reveals initial release request amid ‘Leyther forever’ claims

‘I think I’ll be a Leyther forever now!’

At the start of 2022, Edwin Ipape had never even heard of Leigh: the place or the club, then still under the ‘Centurions’ tagline.

Fast forward just over three years, and he’s won the 1895 Cup, Championship League Leaders’ Shield, Championship Grand Final, Championship Player of the Year, and the Challenge Cup.

Helping the Leopards into the Super League play-offs in two successive years on top of all that, the hooker is now the adopted son of the town, seeing a club-record new six-year contract extension announced over the weekend.

That extension takes him up until the end of the 2031 season, at which point he’ll be 32 years of age having given the club ten seasons of service.

In his own words, he expects to be a Leyther forever now. But as he has now revealed, that may not have been the case just a few short weeks ago.

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‘I never saw myself staying here long-term like this… at one point, I did want to go’

Mount Hagen native Ipape spoke exclusively to LoveRugbyLeague following Sunday’s 24-10 win at home against Huddersfield Giants.

Having seen his new deal made public prior to that game, he detailed: “I never saw myself staying here long-term like this, but I’m so happy that the club has put faith in me and given me an opportunity to stay here for another six years.

“We started talking (about a new deal) this year, and to be honest, I was close to going.

“There were a couple of clubs interested over in the NRL and some from Super League, too. I just wasn’t interested though in the end.

“At one point, I did want to go and I asked for a release, but it didn’t work out.

“I’m over it now and at the end of the day, we got something sorted. I’m really happy that we did.

“I signed the deal yesterday (Saturday), there’s no NRL clause.

“I think I’ll be a Leyther forever now!”

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‘It wasn’t that hard of a decision for me… I just didn’t have the urge to go and start all over again’

Now 26, Ipape has established himself as the best hooker in Super League – making the Dream Team in 2023 and earning rave reviews again last year despite missing a large chunk of the campaign through injury.

Sydney Roosters were the NRL club leading the chase for his signature Down Under, but he insists it was always going to be a new deal at Leigh which was his preference deep down having become a part of the furniture in Adrian Lam’s team.

Ipape said: “It wasn’t that hard of a decision for me, I’m happy here, I’m at peace and I’m enjoying my time.

“Importantly, me and my family are enjoying our time here away from rugby league as well.

“They’re all happy here, so there’s no point in me taking them elsewhere and having to start again in the hope they like it there.

“That’s one of the reasons I decided to stay, definitely.

“I just didn’t have the urge to go back and start all over again because I’m comfortable here and I’m in a good place.

“That’s why it wasn’t a tough decision to turn away the interest from elsewhere.”

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‘I wouldn’t want to stay here if the club wasn’t heading in the right direction… I hope that some of the boys stay here with me’

As touched on already, the relationship between Ipape and the town of Leigh is about as close-knit as you’ll find for a man born over 8,500 miles away.

His performances in a Leopards shirt have helped him to become a mainstay on the international front for Papua New Guinea, with his Kumuls cap tally now sitting at 10.

Now he’s put pen to paper on his new deal with the club, Leigh’s off-contract list sits at nine players – but still includes PNG colleague Lachlan Lam as well as winger Josh Charnley and half-back Gareth O’Brien.

Expressing his hopes for more of his team-mates to extend their stays at the Leopards’ Den, Ipape said: “When they first called me, I’d never heard of Leigh.

“I had to look the club up and see what it was about. I saw all of the history, got myself over here and from where the club was at when I arrived to now is just massive.

“I can only see that it’s a club on the up with bigger things coming ahead, and I think the deal says a lot about the club as well as how positive things are here.

“I wouldn’t want to stay if the club wasn’t heading in the right direction, and I hope that some of the boys stay here with me.

“I’m sure there’ll be some boys extending their contracts, and some might end up leaving, but that’s part of the game.

“We’ll see what happens.”

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