Leigh Leopards star dubbed ‘one of best in Super League’ as coach sings forward’s praises
Kai O'Donnell (left) in action for Leigh Leopards with head coach Adrian Lam (right)
Leigh Leopards coach Adrian Lam believes Kai O’Donnell isn’t just the best back-rower in Super League: but one of the best players in the entire competition.
The 25-year-old has been a mainstay of Lam’s forward pack ever since he arrived at Leigh in 2022, making 67 appearances across three seasons to date.
O’Donnell will return to the NRL at the end of this season, with North Queensland Cowboys having announced his signing on a two-year contract from 2025.
The Aussie back-rower has been in fine form this season, making Love Rugby League‘s Team of the Week on several occasions, boasting an average of 11 carries and 31 tackles per game in 2024.
O’Donnell produced another impressive performance in Leigh’s 36-6 win over London Broncos on Friday night, with Lam telling Love Rugby League: “Kai has been awesome and I think he’s probably the best back-rower in the competition. I mean that.
“He’s one of my favourite players in this club, let alone the whole competition.
“He is a machine. He is the ultimate professional rugby league player. If I had a thousand kids that were 10-years-old that wanted to play rugby league, I would say ‘follow this guy and everything that he does’. He’s second to none at this club in (terms of) his preparation, he gives absolutely 100 per cent in everything that he does and more.
“He’s not the tallest and not the biggest, but pound for pound, he’s potentially one of the best players in Super League.”
READ MORE: Super League Team of the Week including Hull FC trio, Warrington Wolves and Leigh Leopards stars
Lam also shared praise for O’Donnell’s back-rower partner Frankie Halton, with the Ireland international having made 28 tackles in their win over the Broncos to go alongside his 13 carries.
“Frankie started the season off slow but the last three weeks he’s been pretty outstanding,” Lam added.
“Again, that tonight, was hopefully another sign that he has taken that step forward but so he should – we’ve backed him – even in some performances that weren’t quite where they needed to be – I backed him – so he’s starting to pay that back now.”
READ NEXT: Leigh Leopards coach makes Lachlan Lam admission and addresses transfer speculation