Phil Gould claims NRL side have signed “the best forward in Super League”

Transfer season is in full swing now as Super League and NRL teams step up their recruitment plans for 2025.

Rugby league is different to many other sports in that the majority of player movement for the following season is often done before the halfway point of the current campaign.

That seems to be the case now more than ever, with more player movement than ever seen before resulting in transfers galore before the end of May – often an unsettling period for many clubs.

There is a strong argument to suggest that no club has been unsettled more than the Leigh Leopards who have already been involved in a controversial headline-grabbing transfer.

Club captain John Asiata will leave the Leopards at the end of the season to join Hull FC, a transfer that dominated the back pages in Super League for over a week with Leigh owner Derek Beaumont unhappy with the way the deal was announced.

There are strong rumours that Zak Hardaker and Oliver Holmes have signed for Hull too, with a number of Leopards players off-contract and a major squad overhaul expected to take place at the Leigh Sports Village.

This morning the latest departure was announced in the shape of Tom Amone. Prop forward Amone has been a revelation since signing for Leigh in 2022 and has become one of their key players.

Super League: Leigh Leopards man ‘the best forward in the UK’

You could fairly confidently say that Amone has been Leigh’s best prop over the last two seasons, securing a place in the Super League Dream Team last season for his superb performances.

However, after sealing his move to the Canterbury Bulldogs from next season on a two-year deal, the Bulldogs General Manager Phil Gould has gone one step further than that.

In his statement following the confirmation of Amone’s transfer, Gould has claimed that the Bulldogs have signed Super League’s best prop forward, as he heaped praise on the club’s new addition.

“We are very excited to have Tom Amone returning to the NRL,” said Gould. “He has been the best front row forward in the UK for the past two years and he will certainly be a boost to our forward stocks.

“We look forward to welcoming him to Belmore for the pre-season.”

Amone, 27, who had stints in the NRL with South Sydney Rabbitohs and Wests Tigers prior to his move to Leigh, will hope he can live up to expectations at Belmore following Gould’s words.

Before that though he will hope to finish his time at Leigh Sports Village with a bang, as the Leopards hope to make a charge for the Super League play-off places during the second half of the season.