Leigh bring in Warrington centre on loan

Leigh Centurions have confirmed the signing of Keanan Brand on a season-long loan from Warrington Wolves.

Born in Ormskirk, Brand started his rugby league journey with Wigan St Pats before joining Widnes Academy aged 14. He enjoyed a memorable breakthrough season with Widnes Vikings in 2019.

Brand was nominated as the Championship’s Young Player of the Year and also named the Widnes Players’ Player of the Year. He played 32 times for Widnes that year, scoring nine tries and last year made three appearances for Warrington.

Brand, who turns 22 next month, said: “This is a brilliant opportunity for me and one I’m looking forward to. I didn’t hesitate when I got the chance to join Leigh for 2021 and talking to their coach John Duffy it’s clear everyone is buzzing about being in Super League.

“We’ll be going into Super League full of optimism and obviously we’ll be seen as the underdogs but I like the challenge that brings.

“My main objective at Leigh will be to play every week and the Sports Village is a ground I always looked forward to playing it. It’s a great facility with probably the best playing surface in the competition.”

Head Coach John Duffy added: “I’ve coached against him when he was at Widnes and he was a player that always caused us problems. He’s a young player with massive potential which is why Warrington signed him last year.

“He is a tough opponent and has many good attributes as well as a great attitude. We had looked at him before the Super League announcement and tried to sign him then but he was adamant he only wanted to play in Super League which says a great deal about the player and shows he’s got something about him.”