ONE transfer may have taken a number of people by surprise when it happened towards the back end of last year – Brad Martin to Leigh Leopards.
The 23-year-old had registered 40 appearances for Castleford Tigers after debuting back in 2020, but Martin signed a two-year deal with the Leopards ahead of the 2025 Super League season.
It’s a new experience for the back-rower, who has only known The Jungle for five years. So why did he leave the Tigers behind for the Leopards and, in the process, reject a new deal with Castleford.
“In terms of a first-team environment, all I’ve known is Cas so it’s probably a change I needed,” Martin told League Express.
“I think I needed that fresh start because sometimes you get a little complacent or settled and the type of person I am, I need a change every now and then to get the spark back.
“I did contemplate staying and I was offered a new deal to stay. It was a very tough decision because I’ve spent a lot of time there and all my Super League games were played there.
“It was tough but I think it was the right move.”
Despite making the move from Yorkshire to Lancashire, Martin is making the trip over the Pennines every day for training.
“I’m travelling over every day. It took me over two hours to get here this morning because of traffic! I wouldn’t move over here.
“I think you can get used to the travel, on a good day it is just under an hour.”
So what is his impression of head coach Adrian Lam and what this Leigh squad can achieve?
“Lammy has been great. From what I can see of him so far, it’s all about the little details. It’s about the one percenters and pushing through the lines.
“He also expects a lot from his players which is really good because it ups our standards as well.
“Leigh finished fourth last year and they won silverware the year before so there’s no reason why we can’t be up there winning trophies.”
Having played numerous first-team games for Castleford, just who is the best player he has played against so far in his career?
“When we played Warrington away last year, Paul Vaughan was tough to play against. He was big, strong and difficult to tackle.
“That Warrington team are hard to stop when they get a roll on and he’s at the front of that.”
