Leigh to run hybrid squad of full-time and part-time players in 2020
Leigh owner Derek Beaumont has confirmed the club will operate a hybrid model that will involve full-time and part-time players next season.
The Centurions started the 2019 season as a fully fledged part-time side – but they recruited the likes of Junior Sa’u, Kevin Brown, Jordan Thompson, Mitch Clark and Ryan Brierley towards the back end of the season.
Leigh coach John Duffy will have around 15 full-time players in 2020, with the rest being on part-time deals.
Beaumont said: “We are running with a hybrid operation where we will have a mix of part-time and full-time players.
“There is obviously a significant cost to this which I will underpin but a lot of the success will come from the hard work of the board, sponsors and supporters backing the club.
“Recruitment is key and is something I have previously seen us get wrong, for which I have always taken accountability.
“I had a little push on at the back end of this season and despite having over achieved in the early part of the year, we can accept as a group that we under achieved with what we finished with.
“The thing to take form that was there was too much change too late and that makes it tough on the coaches and the players to put it all together. Therefore, this year it’s important that we build from the start.”
More on site
From zero-hour contracts to full-time rugby league player: The sensational rise of Matty Ashton
Batley lure back-rower from Dewsbury
From Featherstone’s glass ceiling to Toronto’s Canadian dream
