Leigh Leopards handed double retention boost as PNG Chiefs’ Edwin Ipape stance aired

Incoming NRL club PNG Chiefs will not sign Leigh Leopards’ star player Edwin Ipape, according to the NRL club’s General Manager Michael Chammas.

The Chiefs have made four signings and appointed Hull KR boss Willie Peters as their head coach ahead of their 2028 start in the NRL, and it’s understandable that plenty of Papua New Guinean internationals have been linked with a move.

Among the very best PNG internationals in Super League are Leigh Leopards duo Edwin Ipape and Lachlan Lam, with the spine pair both essential for the Leopards and the Kumuls’ national team.

Both would be obvious candidates to sign for the Chiefs but general manager Michael Chammas has told NRL.com that such deals are unlikely, particularly for Ipape given the length of his contract.

The hooker signed a new deal last year that tied him to the Leopards until the end of the 2031 season, and that’s something Chammas referenced.

“Everyone keeps asking us about Edwin Ipape,” Chammas admitted.

“The reality is that Edwin Ipape signed a six-year deal to stay at Leigh and as far as has been reported, there is no NRL get-out clause for him, so we’ve got to respect his position there.”

Leigh Leopards players off the table for PNG Chiefs for now

That is a massive boost for the Leopards who will lose a number of key players at the end of the season, with Robbie Mulhern and Owen Trout among those, as well as the expected exit of Bailey Hodgson.

One man who is contracted for 2027 but not beyond, therefore could become an available option for the Chiefs, is half-back Lachlan Lam, with Chammas also addressing the playmaker as a possible recruit.

“Lachlan Lam is contracted for another year at Leigh as well,” Chammas confirmed.

“Just like the NRL, we know the rules we’re playing by and if things pop up, we’ll deal with them.

“But at the moment there are some rules around certain players that limit what we can do.”

Those rules that Chammas refers to are that players can only be spoken to when in the final year of their contract, with November 1st the deadline for speaking to off-contract players.

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