As the Leigh Leopards move away from the players who helped them win promotion back to the Super League, the team will look completely different in 2025. Before the 2025 season, a number of players from their 2023 Challenge Cup-winning team will depart the club.
The first well-known player to confirm their departure from the Leopards was John Asiata, who will be joining Hull FC. It has been reported that Asiata would be travelling across the Pennines with Oliver Holmes and Zak Hardaker. Tom Amone, who has already reached a contract agreement with the Canterbury Bulldogs, will depart the team and rejoin the NRL.
Although nothing official has been announced as of yet, other important players like Lachlan Lam have also been linked to a move abroad. Leigh did, however, some encouragement when head coach Adrian Lam denied rumours that Hull was interested in signing a long-term contract with the team.
However, as it has been confirmed that they will rejoin the NRL, Lam will need to prepare for life without another one of his household names.
In 2022, Kai O’Donnell left the Canberra Raiders to join the Leigh Leopards. He was a vital member of the Leigh team that season that gained promotion from the Championship. Additionally, he had a significant impact on the Leopards’ victory in the Challenge Cup and their ascent into the Super League’s top four the previous season.
NRL teams had taken notice of O’Donnell’s impressive performances for Leigh, and rumours started to circulate that he would go back to Australia after his contract expired at the end of 2024. His next move has now been verified. O’Donnell is set to play for the North Queensland Cowboys in the North Queensland statement confirming the deal reads:
Kai O’Donnell, a youngster at Proserpine Brahmans, has agreed to a two-year deal with the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys, which will run through the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
After attending the Cowboys Academy, O’Donnell made his NRL debut in 2020 with Canberra, playing in four Raiders games.
Leave a Reply