“We’re looking at every opportunity there is” Adrian Lam provides Leigh recruitment and retention update

Leigh coach Adrian Lam says the Leopards are ‘always looking’ to improve their squad as he provided an update on the club’s recruitment and retention.

The date of May 1 has now passed, meaning Super League clubs are now able to make signings for next season after the opening of the recruitment window.

Players can now sign for clubs for 2024 and can now look to bring in players for next year.

Lam says the club are always actively scouring the market to see how they can improve their squad.

Speaking exclusively to Love Rugby League, Lam said: “It is a time to make sure you are on schedule with who you want to be and what we want to do.

“As a club, we’re always looking to improve our squad.

“We have the smallest squad in Super League but having said that, we’ve got an owner (Derek Beaumont) here who is very obvious on building this club.

“We’re looking at every opportunity there is to meet with players that are off-contract who we think will fit this environment and who we want to add to this squad who will help us develop in to the team we want to be over the next couple of years.

“I think it is pretty hectic (time) for all clubs, not only for recruitment but also for retention and keeping the players you need to have here, so we’re working really hard on that so it’s business as usual for us every day throughout this month.”

Retention is key for Leigh this season, says Adrian Lam

The Leopards have eight players who are out of contract at the end of the season – Jacob Jones, Tom Nisbet, Ben Nakubuwai, Kai O’Donnell, Ben Reynolds, Aaron Smith, Nathan Wilde and Joe Wardle.

Lam says the retention of key players is important for the Leopards this year as they look to build a long-term future in Super League.

He added: “It’s something we’re very aggressive with in the sense of making sure we manage that process really well.

“We don’t want to lose anyone obviously that we want to keep here but having said too, we’ve got to make some tough decisions on players to improve the squad or to give them an opportunity somewhere else if the offers are better.

“It’s a business within the business to be honest but it is certainly a part of success for clubs that have been successful at any stage during their career. We are working hard on making sure we manage that process.”

Next up for Leigh is a clash with Castleford at the Leigh Sports Village on Friday night, 8pm kick-off.

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