Leigh coach admits to recruitment challenge ahead of 2027 following play-off exit

Leigh boss Adrian Lam admits the Leopards ‘have got to work harder than ever’ on the recruitment front ahead of 2027, with their 2026 campaign ended by Wakefield Trinity on Friday night.

Having made it into the play-offs for the fourth season on the spin, Leigh fell at the first hurdle: losing 26-16 away at Belle Vue against Trinity.

It marks the Leopards’ worst campaign since 2023, with the last two seasons having seen them progress past the eliminator stage and into the play-off semi-finals.

Friday night’s defeat also brought the curtain down on a number of departing stars’ Leigh stints – and so far, no incomings have officially been announced.

Leigh coach admits to recruitment challenge ahead of 2027 following play-off exit

Owen Trout, Robbie Mulhern, Isaac Liu, Bailey Hodgson and Ben McNamara will all depart the Leopards’ Den, as will retiring veteran Jack Hughes. Off-contract utility Matt Davis may yet follow them out of the exit door.

Post-match at Belle Vue, head coach Lam admitted: “We’ve been quite aggressive with our recruitment and retention since our promotion back into Super League.

“We’re getting the number down (of players leaving), and the sooner we get down to no one leaving, which may take two or three years, then we have a fair chance.

“It’s going to take a bit of homework because there’s obviously still a lot of work left to do.”

The Leopards are expected to re-sign back-rower Kai O’Donnell and have signed young hooker Jack Purtill from Wigan Warriors.

But beyond that, their recruitment plans remain unclear: with plenty of holes left to fill, not just in terms of the starting 13, but the squad as a whole.

Lam added: “It’s going to take a lot of hard work, but our job is to make sure we are in a position to compete and we’ve done that as well as anybody over the last four years.

“We’ve got to work harder than we’ve ever done with that, but we’ll be okay.”