Leigh Leopards have been handed a major retention blow with one of their off-contract forwards set to leave at the end of the season.
The Leopards have a total of 13 players off-contract at the end of the year including some of their key starters with Robbie Mulhern and Owen Trout among the most talked about.
Adrian Lam fielded questions about Mulhern in a recent presser, explaining that it’s a situation that happens every year in respect to off-contract players, though he specifically said of Mulhern that his ‘priority’ is to ensure he leads the group.
That was amid links to the NRL, though Serious About Rugby League understand that Mulhern will sign with Castleford Tigers for the 2027 season, as first reported by Love Rugby League.
It’s a serious blow for Adrian Lam’s side, of which Mulhern has been a key player since joining ahead of the 2023 season.
Leigh Leopards set to lose Robbie Mulhern for 2027
Mulhern was part of that first spate of signings that Leigh made upon their return to Super League and their rebrand to the Leopards, winning the Challenge Cup in his first season and going on to make almost 80 appearances for the club.
The 31-year-old had signed from Warrington Wolves with Hull KR and Leeds Rhinos among his former clubs and the Leeds-born man will now head back to West Yorkshire in 2027 to link up with Castleford.
Castleford have been very aggressive in their recruitment so far this off-season under Martin Jepson’s ownership and a move for Mulhern would be yet another statement of intent.
Recruitment in 2026 has primarily focuses on the backs with a new full-back, half-back and four outside backs arriving, so moving to flesh out the forward pack in 2027 makes plenty of sense.
Check out the latest episode of The Serious About Rugby League Show on our YouTube channel here.
