ADRIAN LAM has issued a ‘hands off’ warning to Super League rivals over his Leigh Leopards players following Edwin Ipape’s new six-year deal.
Ipape, whose stock has risen considerably since moving to Leigh in 2022, rejected advances from the NRL to sign his new bumper deal with the Leopards.
In doing so, the 26-year-old will rack up ten years of service with the Leigh club by the end of his new deal – and head coach Lam believes it sends a message to the rest of the rugby league world that Leopards stars cannot be ‘picked off’.
“It shows what we feel first and foremost that Edwin was a player we very much wanted to stay,” Lam said.
“He is a God in this part of town and what he’s bought to our team has been next level.
“As well as that, we’ve put a note out to other clubs that they can’t just come in and cherry pick our players willy nilly and that players are wanting to stay here.
“We are building a little group of men that can take us forward and Edwin is a big part of that with the statement last week.”