Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has admitted that Warrington Wolves forward Joe Philbin is a player that he admires amid reports that the club could sign the veteran prop.
Philbin, 31, is out of contract at the end of the season at Warrington, the club that he has represented since 2014, with the former Great Britain international racking up over 200 appearances in primrose and blue.
It’s been reported by Love Rugby League that the Leopards are one of two Super League clubs in for the prop and that’s something that Adrian Lam has confirmed, admitting that Philbin’s name has ‘popped up’.
Leigh have a host of players out of contract at the end of the year but among the two most significant are Robbie Mulhern and Owen Trout, with the pair set to join Castleford Tigers and Cronulla Sharks, respectively.
Also off-contract is overseas forward Aaron Pene and young forward Ryan Brown, meaning Leigh could lose up to four props in the off-season.
It’s therefore no surprise that Philbin is a name that has popped up on the club’s radar and when asked about the Warrington man at his weekly presser, Adrian Lam admitted that the 31-year-old is a player that he has long admired.
“I’ve always been a fan of Joe’s, even when I was coaching at Wigan there,” Lam admitted.
“Like other players, we need to take it into consideration for next year, Joe. His name’s popped up there, so we’re looking through that process and nothing’s come of that at the moment.”
As for what’s to come with recruitment, now headed up by Andrew Henderson after the exit of Chris Chester, Lam said: “There is a process that we’re going through to finalise all areas, not only as front rowers, but there’s a lot of work to do in that area, but we’re ripping in with that at the moment.”
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