Josh has resigned for a further 2 years

Brilliant news if confirmed!

I hope it's true. His agent had already lined up a deal for him at a SL club.

His agent has , with Leigh

Hope this true!

Must admit when he scored against Hull KR in front of the Leigh fans and celebrated like he had won the world cup I had a gut feeling he might be staying. Looked like a man really enjoying his rugby league!

Josh Drinkwater Extends Centurions Contract


Leigh Centurions are pleased to confirm that 24-year-old Australian halfback Josh Drinkwater has extended his contract with the Club until the end of the 2019 season.

After making a try-scoring debut in the victory at Swinton Lions in May, earning Heritage Number #1413, Drinkwater has played in 13 games scoring eight tries and kicking one goal. He has formed a fine halfback partnership with Martyn Ridyard and already has become a firm fans' favourite.

Sydney born and a former Manly junior, Drinkwater made his NRL bow with St George Illawarra in 2013 and then joined Wests Tigers after a season in Super League with London Broncos. He was top points scorer for Broncos in their relegation season of 2014, scoring five tries and kicking 58 goals in 25 appearances.

Prior to returning to England he had been in impressive form in the New South Wales Cup and won the Man of the Match award in NSW Residents' victory over Queensland Residents at Langlands Park, Brisbane. Drinkwater joined Leigh initially on a contract until the end of the current season after starting this year as a member of Wests Tigers' 30-man squad.

Leigh Centurions Head Coach Neil Jukes said: "I am delighted that Josh has extended his stay with us. I know from speaking to him along the way that there were a lot of reasons why he wanted to stay, but whilst we were always keen to get his signature it was imperative that we gave him the space to make the right decision for himself.

"By Josh re-signing now shows a lot of confidence in what we are doing. He has shown great commitment to the Club and he is pivotal to what we are wanting to build here. He has had genuine offers from Super League clubs but the fact he wants to carry on with us shows faith in the staff and the players and shows that he has bought into our vision."

Leigh Centurions Owner Derek Beaumont said: " This is a really important signing for the Club. We agreed with Josh in principle some time ago but he wanted to ensure his partner was happy here when she visited and thankfully she likes the place.

"Josh has settled really well and has been influential in our current success so it is positive that we can continue to build on that.‎ It is an exciting time for the Club and I know this news will be well received by our fans and is a further statement of our commitment to build a Super League side that can be competitive when it gets there and whether that be this year or next Josh is committed to our cause."

Fantastic News....didn't think he would be staying to be honest.

Absolutely fantastic news.

Great news

Fantastic news...super league here we come!

Clever timing from the club.

Will give a huge feel good factor ahead of the big game tomorrow with such a key player staying at the club.

Delighted with this!

Drinky is a Leyther!

Brilliant news.

Exactly Nozzy. Fantastic piece of PR. Watch the piece on LCTV of them training. I watched it earlier today and you see Josh and Mickey really enjoying training. I thought then that he looked as if he was going no where. I really can't wait for tomorrow.

This is great news. This guy puts his body on the line time and time again with the delayed passes he throws when we are close to the opposition line. Great scrum half and awesome all round game. Well done Josh and well done Derek, Neil and all the Leythers responsible for making him feel that staying with us is the right thing to do.

We must have a decent scouting set up in Aus, both Weston and Drinkwater have been quality signings.
As has been said before, can't wait for tomorrow, one very proud Leigh fan.
Think we all need to give Derek a song tomorrow to indicate our appreciation.

Well that is a top signing, when you look at some of the 7s currently in SL we have a class act there - pleased to see commitment from himself also, a club on the up irrespective of where we are next season

Fook me..

He has ?

I never saw his [iresignation[/i for this year !

Seriously though, I am absolutely delighted at this fantastic news, for me the likes of Josh & Ben Reynolds are the future of this Great Club.
Josh is a player we can build a solid SL team around & goes to prove you don't need huge names to achieve great things *well maybe one or two*.

The fact that this team was rebuilt around Leigh lads from Clubs like Leigh Miners & the return of our Prodigal Son *Mickey Is a Leyther* is even better, something that PR can actually take some credit for.

I think that the culture & tight friendships & all for one/one for all attitude is helping to attract & retain the best type of player. Prima Donna's we don't need, hard working, classy Pro's like Josh, Dayne etc we do & thankfully King Degsy is delivering them.

Thanks Derek.

Not while there's dogs on the street .....













Even 3 legged one's !!!

Great signing for me, this a quad is beginning to look really mean,I think today's game against Hudds is massive, win it and we are in SL, simple as that, a lose we still have a chance, I can't wait for today's game to start , it's obvious guys like Josh have faith in the Club for next season,but again if we are to progress next season we need to sign around maybe 5 quality players , though I'm sure Derek , Jukesy and the Backroom staff know what's needed, give Leythers summat to shout about and they will shout.Though being a quiet modest Clown , I never shout.

The problem you will have though Charlie is where you will be able to recruit those players from. - this is the problem with promotion and relegation as it stands. Most clubs have already completed their recruitment for next year. The players available to you will be those from the relegated side, those with "issues" such as hardaker, or those not perceived good enough by the other SL clubs so have not yet managed to secure a contract with a club. You already have a few non fed trained on your books so will be limited looking further afield. You may drop lucky with a player misdemeanour meaning a club is looking to offload a decent player a la chase, carney, ferres - perhaps Kelly..... This is why it's always so difficult for a team promoted at the back end of the season. I'm not sure what the answer is TBH but any club promoted is immediately at a disadvantage in terms of recruitment.

All true but if we win today (a big if admittedly) then we will get the jump on Hudds, Salford and Hull KR in terms of recruitment as we will be up whilst their SL futures still hang in the balance.

Maybe so Jools, but I would think Derek our Owner would already know this and has already begun recruiting and looking at possible signings whatever League we are playing in, it's not like the old days where you had to wait to see what League you are playing in.
You only have to look at our signings over the past couple of years, already I feel our pack is very much SL standard,and I think there are plenty of players who would jump at the chance to come to play at Leigh.

Hudds are already more or less sorted for next season. Couldnt tell you about KR or Salford. Not sure what "jump" you refer to. They have already recruited for SL. If any of those three are relegated you get to chose the best of what must have been a bad bunch. Any new players that have already agreed contracts will be desperate to get one elsewhere- so the best will be snapped up by the better teams and be able to get them on lower wages. The cards are stacked against any promoted team- it's very unfair.

Just logged on to find the good news regarding Drinkwater. Yes it's great timing and has changed my nervousness about today's game to an upbeat feeling. I 'm sure many others agree that an attempted wet blanket from Jools of HDHQ is a pretty pathetic tactic and one that should elicit no further comment.

Go Leythe!