JOE OFAHENGAUE has revealed he was ‘taken aback’ by Adrian Lam’s decision to include him in the Leigh Leopards’ leadership group for 2026.
Ofahengaue has made 18 appearances since joining the Leopards midway through the 2025 Super League campaign, leading from the front to help Leigh make it all the way to the semi-finals of the play-offs.
Now, the 30-year-old has been given the task to pass on his wisdom and experience to the rest of the squad having been brought into the leadership group by Lam.
“I was pretty taken aback by that,” Ofahengaue admitted.
“You play this game for the love of it and not what comes with it.
“I’m an easy person and I wanted to lead with my actions.
“There is a bunch of great blokes here and touch wood hopefully there are no injuries going into the season.
“This group is such a tight-knit one and I want to fit in where I can.
“There’s been a lot of lowdown with the boys and it’s been to get to know people at the club that perhaps you don’t know as much.”
For Ofahengaue, the goal is simple, to win the Super League Grand Final in 2026 after recovering from a calf issue that halted his pre-season.
“My pre-season started off pretty rocky as I had a little calf injury going into.
“But, I’ve done everything right to get back as quick as I can and it’s been four weeks now of smooth sailing.
“I want to win ti all, we were one game off last year and if we had made it to the Grand Final, we probably would have won it.
“I didn’t come over here to take part, I came hereto win as much as I can with this group.”