Joe Ofahengaue probably won’t make his debut for Leigh Leopards this week, head coach Adrian Lam has revealed. The former State of Origin forward penned a deal to join the Leopards last week following his release by NRL club Parramatta Eels.
Ofahengaue is contracted to spend the next three and a half years at Leigh and he will board a plane bound for the north west of England this week. The prop will be fit having made six appearances in the NRL for the Eels this season, starting all but one game before his release, with his last outing coming on April 12 against Canberra Raiders.
As such, it won’t take him long to get up to speed at the Leigh Sports Village and Leopards fans can expect to see the forward featuring in Super League before too long. However, Lam doubts he will arrive in time to feasibly play against Salford Red Devils on Saturday evening.
A debut against Catalans Dragons at Magic Weekend looks more likely then, but with some enormous games coming up through May, with a Challenge Cup semi-final against Warrington Wolves and clashes with current top four rivals Wigan Warriors and Hull FC on the horizon, the sooner Ofahengaue can settle in, the better.
Joe Ofahengaue to link up with Leigh Leopards this week
“He will be on a flight next week,” Lam said after the Leopards’ Rivals Round victory over Warrington, per Total RL. “Whether he’s here in time for the Salford game, we’ll see what happens, but I think it’s unlikely.
“I’d like him playing as soon as possible. Whether that’s starting or off the bench, depending on his arrival time, we’ll make that decision when that happens.
“But we’re grateful to have a player who is experienced, who is a leader, who sets high standards.
Ofahengaue arrives at Leigh with over 200 NRL appearances under his belt having spent the last 10 years as a key man in the competition. He started his career at Brisbane Broncos before going on to join Wests Tigers and the Eels.
The 29-year-old has represented Tonga on seven occasions, while he has three representative appearances for Queensland, too.
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Preston Thomas
April 22, 2025 at 3:13 pm
We really look forward to seeing Joe Ofahengaue playing for the Leopards and making a huge input to the squad.
We now need a couple more top rate halfbacks as soon as possible.
New players are needed to cover for possible injuries the Leopards always seem to experienc because of the huge effort they always give.