Wests Tigers reject Joey Leilua reveals desperate bid to earn NRL contract

After being told his services are no longer required at the Wests Tigers, Joey Leilua is going to unusual lengths to secure an NRL deal.

Joey Leilua is reinventing himself as a prop forward. (AAP Image/Brendon Thorne)

Outgoing Wests Tigers centre Joey Leilua is set to reinvent himself as a damaging prop forward in a bid to ink an NRL deal elsewhere.

Earlier this week, the Tigers announced Leilua was one of five players who would be leaving the club for various reasons.

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Leilua was dropped to reserve grade by coach Michael Maguire early in the season and has struggled to crack into the Tigers’ best side.

Now without an NRL contract and considering a move to the Super League, it’s been revealed the former Canberra and Sydney Roosters star is prepared to transform himself into a ball-running front-rower.

“I think he would be absolutely devastating in the middle,” Leilua’s manager Paul Sutton told the Daily Telegraph.

“There aren’t too many better ball runners then him in the game and he will have no trouble making the switch.

Joey Leilua is reinventing himself as a prop after being let go by the Wests Tigers. NRL Photos

“He could easily put on size.

“But I think he is already plenty big enough. He is already around 110kg. He has both the size and the motor to play as a prop or on the backrow.”

An outstanding ball-player at his best, Leilua is a two-time Dally M centre of the year and played in the 2010 and 2019 NRL grand finals with the Roosters and Raiders respectively.

A move from the centre to the forward pack is not outside the realm of possibility, considering Leilua weighs 106kg, which is heavier than some NRL props, including Melbourne’s Dale Finucane and Cronulla’s Aiden Tolman.

Leilua also has experience playing as a forward and back-rower as a junior and in the early stages of his NRL career.

His manager believes the 29-year-old can make an impact as a damaging middleman in the mould of North Queensland Cowboys star Jason Taumalolo.

“He is a player that needs to be involved,” Sutton said of Leilua.

“He needs to get the ball in his hands and he would get plenty of that by making the switch.”

And according to Sutton, Leilua’s decision to change positions could pay off, with two NRL clubs said to have already shown interest in signing him.

Leilua has shown in the past he has the ability to transform his body shape in quick time.

Will another NRL club pick up Joey Leilua as a forward? (AAP Image/Brendon Thorne)

Earlier this year, he reportedly lost 10kg in the pre-season after a “disgusting” debut season with the Wests Tigers in 2020.

Leilua dramatically opened up in an interview with foxsports.com.au about the ugly habits which saw his form on the field and his physique off the field fall apart.

He said his dietary breakdown was the result of isolation away from his family, including his mum, his wife and children, as the NRL was forced into Covid bubbles.

“It was more Oporto, man. I was eating Oporto every day for lunch and dinner,” he said.

“Chicken fillet Bondi. It was bad, I wasn’t an athlete last year, I can tell you that much.

“I was weighing too heavy last year. This year is different, I stuck to my diet, controlled my weight and now I’m down to my playing weight.”

“Absolutely disgusting,” he said of his 2020 campaign.

“It was poor from me. I never want to see myself like that again. I was poor in my performances … they signed me to make the club better.

“I let the club down and the fans. My job this year is doing my best as I can to repay them.”

Originally published as Wests Tigers reject Joey Leilua reveals desperate bid to earn NRL contract