Leigh Leopards boss explains mid-season prop switch as Kai O’Donnell move still not ruled out

Adrian Lam has revealed that new Leigh Leopards signing Jack Ashworth is someone he has admired for a long time, and has now managed to finally bring him to the club.

Ashworth has cut short his contract at Castleford Tigers to join the Leopards, in a move that coincides with prop Lazarus Vaalepu going the other way, though that is only on loan until the end of the season.

The former Hull FC man only joined the club at the beginning of the season, but after 10 Super League appearances, a spell on loan at Doncaster and time in the reserves, he has opted to move on.

“I’ve been a fan of Jack’s for quite a number of years now,” he told the press today. “I tried to get him here a couple of years ago, but that didn’t work.

“We’ve eventually got him, and I think just good timing for a big forward, mobile forward, that’s aggressive and a hard runner of the ball. As a club here, and the group and the coaching staff, we feel strongly that we can take him to another level with his game.

“…He’s been here before in the past on two occasions, I believe, with a total of nine games for Leigh in the past. He‘s aware of how it operates around here. Not under me, though, under a different leadership. He’s excited for that opportunity to show himself now moving forward.

Asked if a potential debut could come this week against Bradford Bulls, Lam said: “He’ll be in that extended squad, and we’ll see how he travels this week. We’ll make a decision on game day if he’s ready to go or if he needs another week in here. He’s come here in a healthy state, so we’re pretty excited.”

As for Vaalepu, who has spent the majoirty of his Leigh career on loan so far, the Leopards boss insisted that he still has a place at the club.

“He’s come in here and just seems to be short on a little bit of fitness and just game time. With his arrival, I think we were 11 out of 13 wins or 12 out of 14, whatever it is, we’ve been going pretty good.

“It’s been hard for him to get in there. So at this point in time, that’s the way that it sits. Jack Ashworth is a long-term project for us here over the next two years at least.

“I’ve been a fan of Jack’s for the last three or four years. He’s not a player that we’ve just picked out of the sky. There is a process that we go through here and I’m looking forward to working with Jack and getting him to grow here.”

Leigh Leopards boss still open to Kai O’Donnell return

With just days to go before the registration deadline, Leigh are still optimistic about a potential return for back rower Kai O’Donnell, who has been linked with a switch back to Super League for a number of weeks.

Lam confirmed that the Ashworth-Vaalepu swap deal does not rule out a move for the North Queensland man, but the Leopards have just days to get a deal done.

“The question has been asked about Kai,” Lam said. “We’d be interested in bringing him over here to Super League, and that’s on Kai whenever he’s ready to decide/

“If he is going to head back over to the UK, we’re certainly a club that are interested in him. We’ve helped develop him as a player, and I think when he left here last time, he broke a lot of hearts with our fans – and the players and the coaches.

“He’s a player that we would love back at this club at some point, if that’s to be. I presume that’s going to be in the future and potentially not this week.

“Having said that, I know Kai played last week for North Queensland, and they’re in the eight [play-off positions], I believe, at the moment, so I think his focus will be on that, rather than divulging where his future’s going to be.”