After signing a two-year contract with an overseas team, reports have emerged that former Manly Sea Eagles forward Ben Condon is set to backflip on the deal and remain in Australia.
Joining the Sea Eagles in 2023 after a stint with theย North Queensland Cowboys, Condon decided to make the move overseas in October, inking a two-year contract with Adrian Lam'sย Leigh Leopardsย in theย Super League until 2026, but it now seems unlikely that this will happen.
Although the club has confirmed Condon's arrival, the forward may not end up joining the Leigh Leopards as he remains in Australia and has failed to link up with the squad for pre-season training, perย Rugby League Live.
It is unknown what the reasons behind this are at the moment and whether he has lined up a new contract elsewhere at the time of publication.
One of the club's international quota arrivals, Condon's potential departure would have a big effect on Leigh's forward pack after they recently lost Tom Amone, Kai O'Donnell and John Asiata.
However, they have welcomed two-time premiership winner Isaac Liu into the club and former Melbourne Storm prop Aaron Pene remains on the books for next season.
The Queensland-born forward made 22 appearances in theย NSW Cup this season but struggled to break through into the first-grade team, only playing one match.
โBen is a big, athletic back rower who can also play as a middle,"ย Leigh Leopards Head of Rugby Chris Chester said in a statement in October.
โWe jumped at the opportunity to sign him as he is a player we have had our eye on for a number of months now.
โBen fits the mould of what we look for in back rowers and middles. He's a big body with good leg speed and good defence, and he's an all-round good guy as well.
โHe should fit in well into our systems we have in place here and he comes with a good pedigree. I'm glad we have got him signed up at the Leopards for the next two years.โ
