Adrian Lam expects that Leigh Leopards will make a decision on the future of winger Josh Charnley in the ‘next couple of weeks’ with the head coach admitting that talk of a new deal has become somewhat of a ‘running joke’ at the club’s training ground.

Charnley, who scored again last week in the win over Leeds Rhinos to extend his Super League tally to a competition-leading 280, has been in impressive form throughout all of 2026, registering 24 tries in Super League.

His scoring peaked during a mid-season run from April to June as he scored 16 tries in just eight games, though his return of 15 in his last ten is also not to be sniffed at. It’s perhaps no surprise that his impressive scoring has coincided with Leigh’s own strong run of form, with the Leopards having won 13 of their last 16 games.

Contract talk has been constant at Leigh with a number of off-contract players having signed with rival Super League clubs, including both Isaac Liu and Bailey Hodgson who have signed for Hull FC.

Lam has now addressed Charnley’s own off-contract status, revealing that the veteran winger has made a game of it lately.

He explained: “For the last six weeks, Josh has been in five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes earlier than me, waiting in the car park to try and knock on my door and say, listen, ‘Am I going around again next year? Can I play again?’ And it’s a running joke at the moment.”

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Josh Charnley’s Leigh Leopards future to be decided in a few weeks

Six weeks ago marks the game where he scored a hat-trick against Bradford before following it up with four tries against Toulouse, however, Lam was eager to point to Charnley’s other contributions in the win over Leeds.

“Josh had some really unbelievable touches last week in the game,” he said.

“He saved a try on one of the great finishers of all time in Super League. The tackle that he made on Hall was unbelievable, and he’s playing like he’s a teenager.

“He’s as professional as anyone, and we get down to this part of the year, every time, Josh’s name gets thrown up. Josh himself will get in front of the TV and purposely win Man of the Match so he can say that he wants to play for another year and put the pressure on the coach.”

As for what will happen and when a decision will be made, Lam simply challenged the veteran to keep doing his thing, stating: “We’ll see what unfolds over the next two or three weeks, but I’ve got to say that he just keeps on keeping on, doesn’t he?

“We do have, in my opinion, a couple of young guns here in Brand and Towse that deserve an opportunity sooner or later. We’ve got to weigh all of that up, so, yes, a decision will need to be made in the next couple of weeks. Either way, I think it’ll be all positive for the club.”