Oli Leyland lifts lid on Warrington Wolves move after London Broncos transfer

Oli Leyland has opened up on his move to Warrington Wolves – with the youngster set to ply his trade outside of the capital for the first time in his career.

Still only 23, Maidstone-born Leyland has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with Warrington ahead of 2025.

The move had been rumoured a few months prior, with Wire head coach Sam Burgess publicly admitting his interest in the playmaker: but the transfer was only officially announced at the beginning of October.

Since then, he’s made the move north, and spoke to the media – including Love Rugby League – for the first time as a Wolves player on Wednesday afternoon.

‘It was an absolute no-brainer for me… everything at the club at the moment seems really positive’

Warrington’s approach allowed Leyland to remain in Super League having been a key part of the London Broncos squad whose top-flight stay was over before it had even begun courtesy of IMG’s gradings system.

Having scored 93 points across all competitions last term, including six against Warrington, he detailed his move to the North West, saying: “It all happened really quickly, I wasn’t too sure what was going to come next for me.

“We got to about August and I heard Warrington were interested, and then within five days, I’d signed.

“It was an absolute no-brainer for me, a club of Warrington’s stature and the way they conducted themselves throughout last year, everything at the club at the moment seems really positive.

“It’s probably the right time for me to come and test myself. I’m not saying it’s now or never, but if I was to do another year or two in London, back part-time, where does that lead for me?

“Having played it, you don’t want to give it up. You’ve played a year of Super League and that’s what you want to do as a kid playing rugby league, you want to play at the top level.

“Having tasted that, I didn’t really want to give it up, and I’m just grateful it was a club as big as Warrington that handed me the opportunity to continue.”

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Oli Leyland lays out Warrington Wolves’ silverware ambitions

Burgess’ side were beaten Challenge Cup finalists and beaten Super League play-off semi-finalists in 2024, losing the latter 10-8 away against Hull KR.

The task now is to go one better and bring home a first major honour since 2019, with Leyland continuing: “At a club like Warrington, it’s always going to be silverware, that’s the ultimate goal.

“If you aim for anything less, you’re not going to be able to perform. If you go into a season saying you want it all, which all of the big clubs do and should be doing, then I think it shows how disappointed they were here last year that they didn’t get over the line.

“Mentality-wise, I think previously they might’ve been happy to just be involved, whereas this year, it’s a bitter disappointment, and that’s a massive stride in itself.

“As a club, we expect to be in and around there, fans will expect that and it’s just about trying to live up to that, enjoying the ride as we go along.”

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‘I want to embrace what I’m going to be doing for the next couple of years in Warrington’

Leyland made his senior debut for the Broncos in March 2021. All bar four of his 98 career appearances to date have come in a Broncos shirt, with those remaining four games played on loan for London Skolars.

The move north hasn’t fazed him though, as the one-time Lancashire youth representative explained: “My dad’s from Burnley, so I’ve experienced the north a few times already.

“My grandma still lives up here in Burnley, so it’s nice to be able to go and see her a bit more regularly. She’s on her own up here, so it’s nice to be able to nip across and see her now.

“If I’d have come up three or four years ago, wherever it would have been, I think I would have struggled a bit. I’m 23 now and my life’s moved on a bit.

“My friends from home are all living their lives, a lot of them work in the city or are doing their own thing, so it’s a bit easier for me now.

“Even living up here, I will see my friends just as much as I would’ve seen them anyway.

“It is a big move, but it’s not the end of the world. It’s an hour and 50 to London (on the train) and I’m just embracing it for what it is, enjoying the experience.

“I want to embrace what I’m going to be doing for the next couple of years in Warrington, see where it takes me and see where we end up as a team.

“Hopefully it’ll be a really positive experience for me, and in turn, it’ll be a really positive time for the club, too.”

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