Flanagan lands one: Leilua returns to Dragons after Cowboys release

The North Queensland Cowboys have granted Luciano Leilua an immediate release so he can take up a $900,00-a-year contract with his junior club, the St George Illawarra Dragons, before the beginning of the 2024 NRL season.

Leilua, 27, has been stood down by the Cowboys since February after a drink driving charge and has played no trials matches yet.

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St George Illawarra originally turned their noses up at Leilua’s asking price before Shane Flanagan convinced club brass he could be a key impact player for the Dragons early in their rebuild. The added benefit that the second-rower is a club junior and played 43 games in the Red V between 2016 and 2019 was added gravy.

The Sporting Base understands the Dragons will now take over Leilua’s $900,000-a-year contract, though the club will only have to pay $500,000 this year with the Cowboys having already paid nearly half of the pricey package.

Ricky Stuart and the Canberra Raiders spent most of last week in the hot seat for the 27-year-old’s signature, but after Flanagan brought the Dragons bosses around things swung towards the joint-venture club. Leilua was also eager to be closer to his father, which meant the St George Illawarra return made the most sense. From there, negotiations progressed quickly, with the Cowboys quite happy to get the gamebreaker off their books.

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“We thank Luciano for his service to our club and wish him, Dora, and their family well in their return home to NSW,” Cowboys general manager of football Micheal Luck wrote today.

While the Dragons have yet to formally announce the deal today, it should happen quite soon. Leilua is then expected to join the squad immediately and should—if everything happens seamlessly—pull on the red and white kit in Mudgee this Saturday.

Leilua is expected to walk into a starting role for the Dragons, with Flanagan already planning to play him and Jaydn Su’a as the starting second-row combination this year.