Championship club confirm departure of overseas ace ahead of 2025 campaign

Championship outfit Sheffield Eagles have confirmed the sudden departure of New Zealand-born back-rower Bayley Liu ahead of the 2025 campaign.

Liu – who featured in the Queensland Cup in the early days of his career – made the move into the British game back in 2020 with West Wales Raiders.

Also donning a shirt for Dewsbury Rams in 2021, the Christchurch native – who is of Māori descent – has been with Sheffield since 2022.

Scoring 20 tries in 58 appearances for the Eagles over the last three seasons, the 28-year-old has also earned three caps for Scotland through his heritage during his time at the Olympic Legacy Park.

Representing the Bravehearts in the delayed 2021 Rugby League World Cup against both Italy and Fiji, and scoring a try against the latter, he went on to feature against Ireland in a Test match at the end of the season just gone.

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Championship club Sheffield Eagles confirm departure of overseas ace Bailey Liu ahead of 2025 campaign

Liu’s appearance tally at club level in the British game now stands at 68 – with 21 tries scored having notched a sole one for Dewsbury against Featherstone Rovers back in June 2021.

Sheffield – who have seen Craig Lingard arrive as their new head coach this off-season – confirmed the back-rower’s exit from the club with a very brief press release published on their club website on Monday morning.

That press release, in full, reads: “Back-rower Bayley Liu has departed Sheffield Eagles by mutual consent.

“We’d like to thank Bayley for all he has done for Sheffield Eagles over the last three years since he joined us back in 2022, and we wish him the best with his future endeavours.”

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