Lucian Leilua is pushing to leave the St George Illawarra Dragons before the June 30 deadline, with the second rower worried that he won’t be able to find another NRL club for 2027 if he’s not playing first-grade football all the way through to the end of this season when his Red V deal ends.
The Dragons second rower has been frustrated with how little he’s being played behind the young-gun forward pack Dean Young is now favouring, even going as far as asking to be dropped to NSW Cup to play 80 minutes instead of just coming off the bench in the NRL.
- Click here to download our NRL Apple app
- Click here to download our NRL Android app
It’s understood Young is not interested in playing Leilua over emerging stars like Dylan Egan, Ryan Couchman, and Hamish Stewart — and rightly so, this Base writer says, considering how well they’ve been going.
But that does mean Leilua needs to think about himself, too, and that has led to this transfer request. It’s unclear whether he has another NRL team lined up to play for yet, but being released this week would give him a few weeks before that June 30 deadline slams shut and he can’t sign anywhere.
The Dragons are only likely to reject the request if the coaching team feels like they need the back-up. They’ve already told the 30-year-old he’s not needed beyond 2026, alongside other players like Blake Lawrie, Christian Tuipulotu, Hame Sele, Nathan Lawson, and Tyrell Sloan.
Leilua is, incredibly, earning as much as $900,000 this year with the Dragons, and would give some of that up if he leaves six months early.
He may draw interest from England, but wouldn’t make as much there.
Are you reading on our app? Download now for the best Sporting Base experience.
At very least, Leilua should have some interested parties considering his statement game against Newtown in reserve grade on the weekend. In that match, he played the full 80 minutes, scored a try, had 18 runs for 199 metres, and racked up a linebreak, linebreak assist, seven tackle breaks, four offloads, and 19 tackles without a miss.
More NRL news
Backing: Dragons players declare Young has ‘done enough’ to lead the club
Comeback? Podcast gives outcast star Schuster an NRL lifeline
Leilua had recently said he wants to stay the Dragons, but must have seen the writing on the wall in more recent weeks.
We should hear if the Red V has let him go before Monday.
UPDATE: The Dragons have reportedly turned Leilua’s request down this afternoon, and are expecting him to stay put for now.
Whether Leilua pushes harder remains to be seen.
