NRL clubs interested in Leigh Leopards stars

Leigh Leopards will not be signing Tristan Sailor ahead of the 2024 season as originally thought that much is clear.

It was widely reported that the Leopards were closing in on the signature of Sailor ahead of the new season in a move that would see Ben Nakubuwai leave the club.

The club were reportedly waiting on a visa which was then granted leaving many fans expecting an immediate announcement but nothing came.

Then Derek Beaumont took to social media to confirm the move wasn’t happening as he stated that contracts needed to be respected. He noted that just like the Leopards are respecting Sailor’s contract, the same needed to happen from NRL clubs to Super League clubs.

This perhaps hints that NRL clubs have come knocking for the likes of John Asiata, Lachlan Lam and Edwin Ipape as reported throughout the season.

Either way, it seems that Beaumont is steadfast in his stance that none of these players will be going anywhere as they look towards the new season.

Speaking of which, ahead of the new campaign Head coach Adrian Lam commented on the club’s website: “I have always been an individual that wants to improve year on year and raise the standards both personally and of the team. Last season was fantastic and in many people’s eyes we overachieved but within we felt we put ourselves in a place where we could have achieved more than we did and we will start our season looking to evaluate that and put ourselves into a good place to maximise our opportunities.

“Chezzie (Director of Rugby Chris Chester) has done another great job with the recruitment which may not be just finished yet with one more target still being worked on thanks to the fantastic support of our owner Derek Beaumont.”

Lam is under no illusions as to how tough the 2024 season will be and the expectations of everyone around and connected with the Leopards. He commented further: “Derek is extremely ambitious, a passion I share and last season gave him a taste of the success he has always craved and heavily invested in but now we want to build on that but we also realise we need to have some patience around that and keep building in the right direction.”