Analysing potential Lachlan Lam replacements amid Leigh Leopards star’s contract debacle
From left to right: Anthony Milford, Jayden Nikorima & Jake Clifford could all be replacements for Lachlan Lam if he departs Leigh Leopards
As things stand, Lachlan Lam will still be a Leigh player next season. But with the contract debacle which has unfolded in the last day or so, if the Kumuls star does depart, he leaves the Leopards with a big hole to fill.
Below, we take a look at five players – from Super League & the NRL – that could replace the 26-year-old at the heart of dad Adrian’s side…
Jake Clifford (North Queensland Cowboys)
As LoveRugbyLeague exclusively revealed at the start of July, former Hull FC man Clifford is back on the radar of Super League clubs having only signed a one-year deal for 2024 with the North Queensland Cowboys upon returning to the NRL.
He’s found game time limited since moving back Down Under, featuring just three times at first-grade level for the Cowboys so far this term with an unused interchange mark against his name in addition.
The 26-year-old scored six tries for Hull in 2023, also notching 54 goals, and could well be on the Leopards’ radar should Lam depart at the end of this year.
Josh Drinkwater (Warrington Wolves)
It’s been a long time since we saw Drinkwater don a Leigh shirt, featuring 43 times for the then-Centurions between 2016 and 2017, but his contract isn’t set to be renewed at Warrington beyond the end of this season, so he could be an option for the Leopards.
Leigh were in fact the club to tempt the Sydney-born playmaker back over from Australia, cutting short his contract with Wests Tigers to join the Centurions at the time.
He hasn’t been back Down Under since, and at 31, you feel Drinkwater might fancy one more stint somewhere in Super League before he heads home.
Lachlan Ilias (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
It doesn’t matter which hemisphere you play in, whenever you move on, you inevitability become part of a transfer merry-go-round.
St Helens ace Lewis Dodd is off to Souths, and with that, three-time Greece international Ilias – who featured in the delayed 2021 Rugby League World Cup – looks set to depart the Bunnies.
The 24-year-old – who made his first-grade debut Down Under back in 2021 – has now made 53 NRL appearances, and Leigh could do a lot worse than going after him should Lam end up leaving.
Anthony Milford (Dolphins)
Leopards supporters need no introduction to Milford, 30, who they were in quite publicly in pursuit of for a month or so ahead of this season, before he opted to stick in the NRL with the Dolphins.
Having appeared in two World Cups, including the latest edition in 2022, the Auckland-born half-back is a 13-time Samoa international with four tries to his name for the nation he represents via his heritage.
This term, Milford has so far featured in two NRL games. That takes his overall first-grade appearance tally Down Under to 219 having previously starred for both Canberra Raiders, Brisbane Broncos & Newcastle Knights. If experience is what Leigh are after, he could be a quality pick up.
Jayden Nikorima (Unattached)
Nikorima is the last of our five picks for potential Lam replacements following the 27-year-old’s release from Catalans Dragons earlier this month.
Given that he’d signed a two-year deal – and obviously intended to stay in the Northern Hemisphere for that time – a number of Super League clubs are already interested in snapping him up for at least 2025, as LoveRugbyLeague has already revealed.
We never really got to see the Kiwi at his best in his short time with Catalans, and you feel he still has a lot left to show.