Leigh Leopards are hoping that the acquisition of Cronulla Sharks star Mark Moylan will help them build on the success they achieved last season.
IF this proves to be another season of success for Leigh, they will probably have Ricky Leutele to thank for a lot of it.
Not only will the powerful centre be a key strike weapon, but he also played a pivotal role in a signing that the Leopards themselves described as “one of the biggest in club history”.
Former Australia internationals don’t come to Leigh every day but in former Penrith and Cronulla star Matt Moylan, they now have one guiding them along from stand-off.
Leutele played alongside Moylan at the Sharks and, having remained good friends since, helped bring him around to the idea of a move after catching up in Sydney during the off-season.
“We were talking about Super League and where I was playing and the direction of the club. I said it was a good club with a lot of good people,” explains Leutele.
“I sent a photo to (Leigh director of rugby) Chris Chester as a joke, but from there it kicked off. Lammy (head coach Adrian Lam) and Chezzy were messaging.”
Lam was in Australia himself at the time, as assistant coach of the Kangaroos during the Pacific Championships, and quickly seized the initiative.
As Moylan tells the story: “I caught up with Ricky back in the shire in his time off. We just got chatting, he said how he liked it over here, and it went from there. It all happened pretty quickly.
“I was still on contract so I was pretty comfortable with where I was at. Then this popped up, grew legs and here I am.
“The way they all spoke about the club was pretty exciting. They spoke highly of where the club was at, what they were able to achieve last year, and where they see it heading this year as well.
“The opportunity and the challenge to come over was pretty exciting for myself.”
Moylan represented the missing piece of the puzzle for Leigh, who put a halfback top of their shopping list following the release of Ben Reynolds.
For such an upwardly-mobile club – from the Championship to the Super League play-offs in two seasons under Lam, with four trophies including the Challenge Cup along the way – only a top-class replacement to improve the team would do.
And the coach, whose son Lachlan will play alongside Moylan in the halves, is confident he has that: “Matty has that experience from playing in the NRL, playing for Australia, playing State of Origin (for New South Wales), being at a great club like Cronulla Sharks.
“I think he’ll also balance really well with Lachie (Lam) and provide a bit of a steady head in the big games. He’s very effective with his attacking style and skill. He’s got great speed and a good kicking game.
“If Matty settles quickly and finds his love for the UK and for Leigh quickly, I think you’ll see the best of him early in the season.”
Moylan sees his role primarily as bringing further experience to a squad that already has plenty of it, and doing his individual job as well as he can.
“There are senior players here who have done a lot in their career, so hopefully I can add to that,” he says.
“I just want to add to the style of play that they’ve already created. Last year they had a bit of success so I want to do my part there and fit in around everyone, Lachie and Gaz (O’Brien) in the spine, and help them create opportunities for us as a side to be in a position to win games.
“I just want to be putting my best foot forward and make sure I’m doing my job for the team and working hard, playing the sort of footy that the coaches and the players around me expect me to play, just doing my role for the team.”
Leutele expects his old team-mate to be just what the Leopards need: “I’m glad we got him over the line because he’s something we needed in our squad.
“He’ll bring a lot of experience and leadership. He’s very silky with ball in hand. Watching him so far, with Lachie and Gareth O’Brien, they’ve been linking well. It’s good to see him do his thing and have a smile on his face.”
Moylan’s partnership in the halves with Lam, the Lance Told Trophy winner and golden-point hero in their Challenge Cup success, will surely be crucial to Leigh’s chances of matching or surpassing last year’s achievements, and the new man says they think alike.
“I like the way he plays and the way he gets a team around,” says Moylan. “Hopefully I can add something to his game to help him get a bit of space and free him up a bit, and he’s able to play his natural game.
“I feel the way we view the game is pretty similar, and that’s helped the combination to form pretty quickly.”
At 32, and with 191 NRL appearances under his belt, it would be fair to suggest that Moylan is now coming towards the end of his career.
But if there is one thing to learn from Leigh’s success last year, it’s not to write a player off – O’Brien and Leutele are in the same age bracket, likewise Josh Charnley, Zak Hardaker, Tom Briscoe, Jack Hughes and Oliver Holmes.
Besides, Moylan – who made his single Kangaroos appearance, on English soil against Scotland at Hull’s Craven Park, in 2016 – is sure there’s plenty left in the tank.
He adds: “I just keep rocking up, keep training hard, doing what I need to do to make sure my body is right to keep training and playing. (I’ll stop) when I’m not enjoying training and playing and the body starts telling me no.
“I still feel I’ve got some pretty good footy in front of me. I’m just excited about the opportunity to be over here and challenge myself in a new competition.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 494 (March 2024)
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