Leigh Leopards set for ‘immediate move’ for NRL playmaker

Leigh Leopards could be set to bring in an NRL playmaker in an “immediate move” according to reports Down Under.

The Leopards are one of a handful of teams in Super League with an overseas quota spot available, whilst they’re also one of even fewer that have some wiggle room on their salary cap.

On their cap space, Lam previously told the media: “We’ve got a fair bit of money in the bank to spend. So nothing has progressed from that but we’re on the pulse every single day.”

As such, they’re perfectly primed for mid-season recruiting and it seems that recruitment could be in the near future as reports Down Under from The Daily Telegraph have linked them to a 93-game NRL veteran who has found himself out of the frame this year.

That man is New Zealand Warriors’ playmaker Te Maire Martin, a former New Zealand international who is still only 29-years-old.

According to The Daily Telegraph, “Warriors veteran Te Maire Martin has been linked with an immediate move to Super League club Leigh”, which would be a massive boost for the Leopards who lost Matt Moylan to a surprise retirement late last year.

Leigh Leopards set for ‘immediate move’ for NRL playmaker

Since then, Gareth O’Brien has played alongside Lachlan Lam in the halves but the Leopards have struggled at times and are one of just five teams not to pass the 100-point mark in Super League this season.

Whilst their attack hasn’t faltered as bad as others have, Leigh have scored just 17 tries but six of them came in their one-sided victory over Catalans Dragons.

Te Maire Martin would offer them another option in the halves with the Kiwi coming off the back of a season where he racked up 16 assists in just 16 games, highlighting his ability.

However, he finds himself behind Chanel Harris-Tevita and Luke Metcalf currently and that does not look like changing any time soon with the Warriors having won their last three games.

Moreover, Martin is out of contract at the end of the 2025 season anyway so it’s possible that the Warriors would allow an early release just as we have seen Newcastle Knights do with Will Pryce, allowing the ex-Huddersfield man to sign with Hull FC.

Leigh have a quota spot on account of them releasing Fijian forward Ben Nakubuwai earlier in March.

There have recently been reports that they are ‘leading the chase’ for prop Tom Amone who left the club at the end of 2024 but has found game time hard to come by so far in the NRL. A move for Martin would block that and vice versa.