The reason behind the gap
Owen Trout’s absence from Leigh Leopards last season came down to an anti-doping ban. A UK Anti-Doping statement confirmed that the England forward returned an adverse finding for cannabis after a late-March game against Super League champions Wakefield Trinity.
Trout missed Leigh’s fixtures from May 16 to June 27. UKAD provisionally suspended him on May 22 and formally charged him on July 20, though the ban was ruled to have run from May 22 to June 21. He told investigators he smoked a joint and ate a cannabis gummy in the week before the Wakefield match, and he completed an approved substance of abuse treatment programme.
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What Leigh said at the time
In June, head coach Adrian Lam spoke about the gap without giving a reason. He described a club focused on looking after the player and making sure everything around him was at a good level, with no set timeline for a return and everything taken week to week.
A move to the NRL is still on
The 27-year-old Yorkshireman played 26 times for Leigh in 2026 and will join NRL side Cronulla Sharks from the 2027 season. His only England cap so far came against Australia last year.
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