Leigh recruitment update delivered as signings near following Aaron Pene exit

Leigh expect to add ‘one or two’ players to their squad ahead of the transfer deadline later this month, Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has confirmed.

This year’s Super League deadline for permanent arrivals comes on August 21, a date now less than three weeks away.

Earlier this week, Leigh came to an agreement for the release of out-of-favour forward Aaron Pene.

That has freed up a quota spot, and the Leopards have made no secret throughout this year of the space that exists in their salary cap as well as their desire to utilise it.

As exclusively revealed by LoveRugbyLeague on Monday, cult hero Kai O’Donnell is expected to return before the deadline and the Australian back-rower will be the man that takes up that quota spot.

But he may not be the only new face that arrives at the Leopards’ Den before the end of the month.

‘There’s an opportunity to bring one or two players in from an outside perspective’

Despite being hamstrung by injuries right the way through the 2026 campaign, Leigh have won 11 of their last 14 games and occupy the final play-off spot on the Super League ladder heading into Round 22.

This weekend sees York Knights visit the Leopards’ Den, and in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon, head coach Lam admitted: “Ideally, it (Pene’s departure) frees us up for a spot to bring someone in between now and the cut-off time.

“We’ve got roughly three weeks, it gives us the opportunity to do that. We’ve had that many injuries throughout the whole season and there’s a window now to expand the squad before we go into that last part.

“We communicate regularly with Andrew Henderson here, Derek (Beaumont, owner), Neil (Jukes, Operations Director) and myself.

“There’s an opportunity to bring one or two players in from an outside perspective, but we’ve just got to balance up what that looks like with the timelines.

“There’s a bit of work still to do, but we’re certainly on that path. We’re going to sit down over the next week and work out what we desperately need to make us take that next step forward.

“I’ve got a squad here, and there were ten players I couldn’t select (through injury), but we need to start moving in one direction or the other. We’ll get that sorted.”

‘We feel the timing of that was right for Aaron to leave’

Ex-Melbourne Storm front-rower Pene had been with Leigh since June 2024, but his stint with the club was heavily affected by injuries.

Playing just 31 games for the Leopards all told, only six of those appearances came this season, and the club had tried to offload him throughout 2026 without any success.

Lam said: “It’s always sad and disappointing when players leave the club in a situation like this.

“Aaron’s very first game for us was away against Leeds, and he was unbelievably brilliant.

“We haven’t been able, from that moment really, to keep him on the field for long periods of time.

“With everything that’s been going on, we feel the timing of that was right for Aaron to leave, and he was on the same page.

“He understands the situation, we’ve had clear communications, and that’s all done now.”