Leigh Leopards’ outrageous potential 2025 line-up, including 5 overseas arrivals

Leigh Leopards have been amongst the most active in the transfer market this off-season, with their tally of new recruits in double figures.

With 13 departures having also been confirmed, including key men key men such as John Asiata, Zak Hardaker (both Hull FC), Tom Amone (Canterbury Bulldogs), Kai O’Donnell (North Queensland Cowboys) and Matt Moylan (Retirement), there’s been a big change in personnel at the Leopards’ Den.

Adrian Lam and his backroom team haven’t been shy in dipping into the overseas market, with five players brought in from Down Under.

That tally would have been six, but Ben Condon’s move fell through due to a failed medical, as confirmed by the club last week.

And with the aforementioned incomings and outgoings in mind, how will the Leythers line up in the 2025 Super League campaign?

Love Rugby League has taken a look at a potential Leigh 18-man squad…

1. David Armstrong

This guy is the real deal. It says a lot about the player that Armstrong is that Newcastle Knights wanted to retain him, but he chose to take up a three-year contract with the Leopards.

He has pace to burn, and scored five tries in as many NRL games for the Knights after making his first-grade debut earlier this year. Leigh chief Derek Beaumont has already gone as far as saying the 23-year-old will be in contention for the Man of Steel award.

2. Darnell McIntosh

McIntosh, 27, arrived at Leigh midway through the 2024 campaign from Hull FC in a deal that saw Tom Briscoe move the other way.

The versatile back had to be patient for his chance in a Leopards shirt, but he went on to score five tries in 16 appearances in the second half of the season and established himself as a mainstay in Adrian Lam’s side.

3. Umyla Hanley

After featuring just twice for Leigh in 2023, 22-year-old Hanley enjoyed a stellar breakthrough campaign at the Leopards’ Den in 2024.

Scoring 14 tries in 29 appearances in all competitions, the Wigan Warriors academy product played the first half of the season out on the wing before moving into the centres, a position he caught the eye in, so we’d back him to stay there next year.

4. Tesi Niu

Three-time Tonga international Niu, who featured in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, has penned a three-year contract with Leigh from next season.

The outside-back, 23, has already made over 50 appearances in the NRL having donned a shirt Down Under for both Brisbane Broncos and the Dolphins. He is able to play at full-back and on the wing, but he will fill the void left by Ricky Leutele in the centres, you feel.

5. Josh Charnley

Veteran winger Charnley is now 33, but shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The 11-time England international has been with Leigh since July 2022, scoring 55 tries in 67 appearances across all competitions.

19 of those tries came in 27 games for the Leopards in 2024, and next year, he will no doubt have his sights set on breaking Ryan Hall’s all-time Super League try-scoring record. Ahead of the start of the new campaign, Charnley sits just six tries behind the Leeds Rhinos wide-man on the leaderboard.

6. Gareth O’Brien

Leigh are yet to lock in their squad numbers for 2025, but we imagine O’Brien could well take the number six shirt following Matt Moylan’s departure from the club and subsequent departure. Now 33, the veteran held the stand-off role from June onwards in 2024, and became a key member of Adrian Lam’s side.

His appearance in the Super League play-off semi-finals against Wigan in October was the 50th game O’Brien has played for Leigh since arriving ahead of the 2023 campaign.

7. Lachlan Lam

Lam is now a 13-time Papua New Guinea international, and captained the Kumuls for the first time this autumn during their Pacific Bowl campaign. He has firmly established himself as one of Super League’s finest half-backs, and Leigh’s best bit of business could well be keeping hold of him.

2025 may well prove to be the 26-year-old’s last year in a Leopards shirt, so we urge you to enjoy him while you can. A very key cog in Leigh’s machine, he’s now played 71 games for the club under the tutelage of dad Adrian.

8. Alec Tuitavake

Leigh’s latest recruit Tuitavake won’t link up with his new team-mates until after Christmas, but given the way the club billed him as ‘Tom Amone’s direct replacement’ in their press release announcing his signature, we’d imagine he’ll be starting in the front-row most weeks.

The 23-year-old hasn’t made a first-grade appearance Down Under, but has made 54 appearances at second-grade level in the New South Wales Cup and represented New South Wales at under-18s level. We’re very intrigued as to how he’ll fare in Super League.

9. Edwin Ipape

Ipape is the best hooker in Super League, and we don’t think there’s a great deal of discussion to be had around that. He’s been utterly dynamite for Leigh since arriving in the North West in 2022, and since their promotion to Super League, more and more people have realised just how good he is.

2024 was a campaign blighted by injury for the 25-year-old Papua New Guinean, yet he still had a huge impact when he was able to take to the field. The powerhouse will hope to be fully fit and firing throughout 2025, with 74 appearances made for the Leopards to date across all competitions.

10. Robbie Mulhern

Mulhern, 30, has found the best form of his career at Leigh, and though his 2024 was hampered by numerous niggling injuries, he still hit some pretty impressive heights when he did take to the field.

Another dominant powerhouse, he’ll no doubt be disappointed to have missed out on the England squad for this autumn’s Test Series with Samoa, and getting back into the reckoning on that front will be a target next year. He’s now made 54 appearances across all competitions for the Leopards.

11. Ethan O’Neill

O’Neill is another whose senior debut in the game will, or at least should, come with the Leopards having made the move into Super League from Down Under ahead of 2025.

Now 25, he is the son of ex-Leigh and Wigan man Julian, and has featured over 70 times in Australia but solely at second-grade level. Adrian Lam is no stranger to a player of his pedigree, and has turned this type of player into a phenomenal Super League star numerous times before.

12. Frankie Halton

Five-time Ireland international Halton, 28, has now played more games for hometown club Leigh (31) than any of the other three clubs he’s donned a shirt for to this point in his career.

Since returning to the Leopards midway through the 2023 campaign, he’s formed a terrific partnership with Kai O’Donnell. That partnership is no longer after O’Donnell’s move back to the NRL, but now may well be the time for Halton to take the reins where Leigh’s back-row partnership is concerned.

13. Isaac Liu

33-year-old Liu has 17 international caps on his CV, earned between New Zealand and Samoa, and has made over 270 appearances in the NRL.

A two-time Grand Final winner Down Under with Sydney Roosters, the veteran joins Leigh on a two-year contract from Gold Coast Titans and has undoubtedly been recruited to replace former skipper John Asiata at loose. His experience will be very valuable, you feel.

Bench

14. Brad Dwyer

Livewire hooker Dwyer, 31, joined Leigh on loan from Warrington Wolves at the start of the 2024 season before making the move a permanent one.

He played 27 games for the Leopards in total, with 20 of those coming from the bench. He and PNG star Ipape work well together when interchanging, so we don’t see anything changing on that front come 2025.

15. Owen Trout

It’s probably fair to say Trout had the best year of his career so far in 2024, making 30 appearances for Leigh having joined them ahead of the campaign from Huddersfield Giants.

Starting 16 of those games and featuring in the other 14 from the bench, the 24-year-old will take his game to another level in 2025, you suspect, with that confidence now under his belt.

16. Jack Hughes

Hughes is Leigh’s Mr Consistent. He just does all the hard work and the little one per cent efforts that coaches love, which is why he’s always on the teamsheet.

The two-time Great Britain international – who will turn 33 in January – played 31 games for the Leopards in 2024, taking his tally for the club up to 49. Across those 31 games, he featured in the front-row, back-row, at loose and even slotted into the halves a couple of times!

17. Aaron Pene

Australia-born prop Pene, who is of Samoan and German heritage, arrived at the Leigh Sports Village midway through the 2024 campaign from Melbourne Storm. He made 15 appearances for the Leopards before the end of the season, with 14 of those coming from the bench.

With Amone returning to the NRL, we had thought he could be set for a starting berth in 2025, but Leigh’s press release announcing Tuitavake’s arrival would seem to suggest otherwise. Nonetheless, if he continues to make an impact from the bench, boss Lam will undoubtedly be happy.

18. Matt Davis

The victim of Leigh’s squad depth increasing, for us, will be Davis. He offers great utility value and has been another Mr Reliable for the Leopards since arriving in 2023, but he would seem the main candidate to drop down into the 18th man role.

It’s highly unlikely we won’t see at least a bit of him in 2025 though given the likelihood of players in Leigh’s forward pack picking up injuries.

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