After winning the Challenge Cup on the weekend with the Leigh Leopards, former Papua New Guinea international and Queensland halfback Adrian Lam is set to become the most likely future NRL head coach.
Taking over at the Leopards in 2021, Lam has successfully been at the helm, which has seen the club promoted back into the Super League, win the 2023 Challenge Cup and currently sit fourth on the competition's table heading into the back end of the season.
As NRL sides take notice of Adrian Lam, per Wide World of Sports, many pundits and journalists are comparing their Challenge Cup victory to that of Leicester City winning the 2015-16 English Premier League (football).
In a remarkable run, Lam, along with his son Lachlan Lam, guided the club to astonishing victories over the likes of the Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves and Leeds Rhinos before an amazing golden-point victory in the final against Hull KR.
A successful halfback in his playing days, Lam began his coaching career in the Queensland Cup with the Northern Pride in 2007 before being offered an assistant coaching role under Brad Fittler at the Sydney Roosters. He would then work as an assistant under Wayne Bennett at the Dragons before becoming the head coach of the club's Under 20s team in 2010 and 2011.
On the international scene, he has also coached the Papua New Guinea Kumals and was an assistant coach under Mal Meninga with the Australian Kangaroos for the Rugby League World Cup last year.
"What he has done with Leigh has the rugby league world talking - he is a future first grade coach here for sure," one NRL club chairman told Wide World of Sports.
"He has been there, done that as a player and coach and could be a breath of fresh air to a club looking for a new face in the next couple of years."
