After spending time training with the Wests Tigers during pre-season, an outside back has decided to depart the club and will make a cross-code switch in the process.
Initially signing a NSWRL (NSW Cup) deal with the Tigers, which included a block of several training weeks with the first-grade, Max Lehmann will now depart the club and return home to the United States of America.
In returning to his birth country, the outside back has signed with the New England Free Jacks in the Major League Rugby competition on a one-year contract until the end of the 2026 season.
While it will be his first time playing professional rugby union, he was previously a member of the Junior NSW Waratahs squad and will bring a wealth of experience and skill to the club’s roster.
Over the years, Lehmann has also featured overseas for the Bradford Bulls, in the NSW Cup for the Parramatta Eels and South Sydney Rabbitohs and won a QLD Cup premiership with the Brisbane Tigers.
The 25-year-old scored six tries and made 18 tackle busts and five line-breaks during the 2025 NSW Cup season for the Rabbitohs before deciding to make the switch to Manly League, in which he played a pivotal role in them winning the Sydney Shield title.