Owen Trout issues latest on Leigh Leopards contract as timeline for decision laid out

Owen Trout has confirmed he is yet to pen a new deal with Leigh, with the off-contract Leopards forward a man in demand on both sides of the world.

26-year-old Trout joined Leigh from fellow Super League outfit Huddersfield Giants ahead of the 2024 campaign, and has played 61 games across all competitions in a Leopards shirt to date.

His impressive individual displays helped Adrian Lam’s side to a third-place finish last term, and then came international recognition in the form of his England debut against Australia at Wembley.

The utility pack man is now in the final year of his current contract with Leigh, and sources had indicated that a deal had been agreed to remain with them beyond the end of 2026, before NRL interest in him increased and that deal was not inked.

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Owen Trout issues latest on Leigh Leopards contract as timeline for decision laid out

Trout has made no secret of his hope to head Down Under before his career is over, and that could now become a reality sooner than first expected.

Speaking to LoveRugbyLeague at Leigh‘s pre-season media day on Monday, he explained: “I’m still a free agent at the minute, I’ve signed nothing.

“I’m still in talks with a few clubs, including Leigh, and it’s not that I’ve gone to become a free agent to completely forget about Leigh.

“They’ve stuck by me for the past three years and helped me kick on, but I’m still very much a free agent.

“There are clubs in Super League and the NRL that are interested, and whatever comes out of it, you never know.”

The former Leeds Rhinos youngster may not have to wait long for the situation to be resolved once and for all though, if it goes the way he hopes.

With a target deadline set for a decision, he outlined: “I’m hoping that by the start of the season, it’s done.

“That’s just me personally, so that I can concentrate on rugby and I’m not having to have meetings through the week before playing on a weekend.

“It was the same when I went into the England camp (for the Ashes), I said to my agent that I didn’t want to know if anyone had mentioned they might come in for me.

“I just wanted to focus on my rugby, and that’s all I ever want to do. Hopefully it’s done for the start of the season, which is only a couple of weeks away now.”

‘Whether I leave Leigh or not, my ambitions are always to go for silverware’

Wakefield-born Trout is fast approaching the landmark of 150 career games, but awaits the first major honour of his career having fallen at the semi-final stage of the Super League play-offs for the last two years at Leigh.

The Leopards’ trophy hopes are clear this season, and Trout’s own vision remains aligned, regardless of where his future may lie.

He said: “Whether I leave Leigh or not (at the end of the year), my ambitions are always to go for silverware.

“We were one step off it last year, and this year we want to go that one step further.

“We don’t just want to be a top four or top six team, we want to be a top two team.

“We want to be competing in Challenge Cup finals and Grand Finals, and build things up brick by brick, especially during the season.”