Rejected by Wigan while still in his teens, Umyla Hanley was less than 24 hours away from turning his back on rugby league for good and getting a job on a building site.
Hanley had spent a frustrating period out on loan at Championship club Newcastle in 2022 and returned to find he was surplus to requirements at his home-town side.
“I’d gone out and bought some work boots and a hi-vis vest and I was all set to go out on the construction site on the Monday and be a brickie or whatever,” Hanley told the PA news agency.
Adrian Lam had other ideas. As Wigan coach, Lam had handed Hanley his Super League debut at the age of 18 in 2020, before subsequently making the short trip across the borough to take charge of ambitious Championship challengers Leigh.
“I got a call off Lammy on the Sunday saying would I come down to Leigh, and I jumped at the chance, and I’ve never looked back,” said Hanley, whose stellar performances in 2025 have earned him a coveted place in this season’s Super League Dream Team.
The move was a no-brainer for Lam, the architect of Leigh’s rise from second-tier hopefuls to Challenge Cup winners in 2023, a trajectory they intend to continue when they kick off their post-season play-off campaign against sixth-placed finishers Wakefield at home next Friday night.
“I remember making that phone call at the 11th hour,” said Lam. “He’d already bought his steel toe-cap boots and he was all ready to let rugby league go all together.
“From the moment I knew Wigan didn’t want him, I got in there quickly. I couldn’t believe it. I’d had him from the age of 15 at Wigan and given him his Super League debut, and I could see the improvement he’d been making.
“It’s one of the reasons I love coaching, for these moments. Where he’s got to today is incredible. He’s got a voice, he’s a leader, and I challenge any player to be more competitive. He’s an absolute beast in that.”
Hanley’s personal rise has been mirrored by his club, who surged to a third-place finish at the end of the regular campaign to earn their home play-off and a chance to go one better than their stunning Wembley win in their first season back in the top flight.
Far from content with the notion that Leigh’s current squad have gone as far they can, Hanley insisted: “I feel like we could have won a few more games this season and been in an even better position than we find ourselves now.
“But if we’d been told at the start of the season we’d finish third, I think we’d have been happy with that. Momentum is a massive thing in this game, and I think with the way our season has gone, we’ve really got everything going for us at the minute.”
