Leigh Leopards have completed one of the biggest signings of the year by bringing in NRL star Matt Moylan for the 2024 season.
The halfback joins as a replacement for Ben Reynolds with the Challenge Cup Final winner leaving the Leopards to join home town club Featherstone Rovers in 2024.
The club had explored the possibility of signing Salford Red Devils star and former Man of Steel Brodie Croft but Leeds Rhinos beat them to the punch.
Meanwhile, they were also interested in NRL star Anthony Milford but this didn’t materialise but the Leopards are very happy with the arrival of Moylan. But what they may not have known at the time is that the arrival of the halfback would lead to a major coup elsewhere.
This is because the salary cap space left by Moylan at Cronulla Sharks has allowed them to make the move for Tonga star Addin Fonua-Blake who has requested to leave the New Zealand Warriors ahead of 2024.
This came to light when Fonua-Blake was working with former St Helens boss Kristian Woolf against England and Woolf shed light on the situation.
“I obviously knew a fair bit about his family situation before he came away,” Woolf said to NRL.com.
“It’s a terrific sign of him as a bloke and as a leader. He’s had a fair bit going on at home and he’s been really committed to this group.
“That’s one thing I love about this group: we’ve got guys who want to put their hands up and want to do commit to what we’re doing regardless of what’s happening back in Australia. He’s certainly a great example of that.
“The media and what came out in the media caught everyone – including him – by surprise a little bit but he’s handled it really well.
“It hasn’t had an impact on the group. One thing he knows is he’s got our support. We’ll certainly rally around him and make sure he feels it.”
On his request being because on “compassionate grounds”, Woolf added: “It’s far from an empty line, no.”
Now Fonua-Blake is set for a big move thanks to Moylan’s move to Leigh.
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