{"id":534743,"date":"2026-04-16T20:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T20:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/534743\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T20:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T20:47:10","slug":"leigh-leopards-boss-confirms-contract-stance-for-in-form-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/534743\/","title":{"rendered":"Leigh Leopards boss confirms contract stance for in-form forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has shared an update on the off-contract status of forward Isaac Liu with the veteran\u2019s professionalism hailed.<\/p>\n

Liu, who turns 35 later this month, is in his second season with the Leopards but his deal with Leigh is set to expire at the end of the season.<\/p>\n

The three-time NRL winner has been a standout during his time with the Leopards and even in the tough season that Leigh have endured so far, Adrian Lam<\/a> believes the veteran loose forward has stood up.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of our leaders. He\u2019s been awesome for us,\u201d Lam said when speaking to the press ahead of Friday\u2019s trip away to York<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he was unbelievable on the weekend. I thought our three middle players with him and (Joe) Ofahengaue and also Robbie Mulhern were awesome in a big game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite suffering a loss to Warrington Wolves and ultimately being knocked out of the Challenge Cup, Lam explained how he hoped that the performance would serve as a turning point in terms of the club\u2019s standards with Liu playing a key role in that.<\/p>\n

The Leigh boss said: \u201cAs much as we wanted to win that game, I\u2019m glad that (performance) has arrived at the time it has because there was an improvement in us and a higher intensity. We seemed a completely different team from our perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s our standards moving forward now but Isaac certainly leads all of that. I think he played every game last year, so he\u2019s durable, but he\u2019s a great leader as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jazz Tevaga\u2019s sin-bin, Hull KR\u2019s underrated star and very early Man of Steel candidates \u2013\u00a0Click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show.<\/a><\/p>\n

Leigh Leopards open contract talks with Isaac Liu<\/p>\n

With such dominant performances coming in 2025 and a strong start to 2026 despite a lack of results, Lam was asked if the club are looking at extending the veteran\u2019s stay.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so. We\u2019re in the process of talking to him as we speak,\u201d Lam revealed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an important part of the group. He\u2019s a popular member of the team. He\u2019s got a funny side about him, as much as he is physical and tough. He does all the hard stuff on the field but he\u2019s always got a bit of a joke about him. He\u2019s a big part of the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the ultimate professional. He takes care of himself. He\u2019s in early, he\u2019s out late. He does everything he possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking further on just how professional the veteran forward is, Lam noted the sad loss of Liu\u2019s mum, with the club allowing the 34-year-old leave to return home to New Zealand.<\/p>\n

Lam explained: \u201cHe had to leave and go home early in the season unfortunately with his mum\u2019s passing but he\u2019s been professional through all of that. Since he\u2019s been back, he\u2019s been the ultimate professional.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has shared an update on the off-contract status of forward Isaac Liu…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-534743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=534743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}