AS he prepares for his move to Warrington Wolves, Oli Leyland is promising to “jump in with two feet.”

And that is not limited to training and matches, either, as he expressed his eagerness to involve himself with as much of life at the club – and indeed in the town and community – as possible.

Weeks of speculation were brought to an end when Leyland’s widely-rumoured move to The Halliwell Jones Stadium was confirmed earlier this month, with the half-back penning a two-year deal to join from London Broncos.

After Wire’s pursuit of the Kent-born talent became public knowledge, the 23-year-old was given a warm reception by the primrose and blue faithful when he turned out for London against his future employers in Round 27.

Now he is officially among their number, he is promising to give them everything both on and off the field.

“It’s going to be quite a contrast to what I’m used to, from quite a small group of fiercely loyal fans to a massive group of fiercely loyal fans,” Leyland told the Guardian after his move was confirmed.

“I felt quite at home the other week – with all the rumours going around about me signing, they made me feel pretty welcome so that was great.

“I’m just going to embrace it – I’ll always be as friendly as I can with fans and get involved with the community side of things.

“I did that in London – I tried to get involved with the youth side whenever I could and I’ll try and do that when I come up.

“That’s just me – I want to be seen as much as I can.

“I’ll jump into it with two feet because dipping my toe in isn’t going to make this successful for anyone.

“I’ll always give it my best shot and you’ll get 100 per cent from me in everything, whether that’s talking to people, community stuff and of course on the pitch.”

All of that will, of course, be music to the ears of the people Leyland will now live among and represent every time he pulls on the Warrington colours.

Like any player, however, how he will be remembered by said people will ultimately be decided by what he does on the pitch and in that area, he feels well-equipped to step up.

An ever-present for the Broncos in 2024 as they won hearts and minds across the rugby league community, Leyland feels he belongs at Super League level – even if he admits Warrington’s interest came as something of a surprise.

“It’s been going on for a while and there were a few things going on that delayed it for a little bit,” he said.

“I’m glad it’s out in the open now and I’m excited to get up there and start the challenge.

“I’ll be honest and say it was a bit of a surprise. I had a few little bits going on here and there, but it really moved quick.

“When a club like Warrington comes along, it’s a really easy decision to make. It was all wrapped up very, very quickly.

“I think it’s time for me. I’ve had five years in the London team in different leagues and in different positions, but I feel like I’m ready to step out of my comfort zone.

“I want to push myself and see where it can take me. It’s an exciting challenge and I’m looking forward to pushing myself towards improving as much as I can.

“I look at myself at the start of the year compared to now, and I’ve felt a lot more comfortable. I feel like I’ve deserved to be a Super League player and was playing like one.

“That was the way with all of the Broncos boys towards the end – we felt like we actually belonged in that arena.

“Moving to a club like Warrington is only going to help me develop and that goes hand-in-hand with helping the club, of course.”

Like the majority of players to have joined the club in the recent past, the pull of working with a modern-day icon of the game in Sam Burgess was a big factor for Leyland.

Naturally, he will get used to Burgess’ presence but he admits there were nerves abound when he met his future head coach for the first time.

However, he says the way in which he was spoken to meant they soon disappeared.

“There was a bit of nervous energy there,” he said.

“When we played Warrington, we started having a bit of a chat and he has that way about him that makes you feel like he knows everything about you. He makes you feel really good about yourself.

“This was only his first year in coaching but he’s gone about it in the right way – you can tell that by watching the team because they seem to love playing for him.

“When I spoke to him, he made me feel important and that’s what you want from your coach.

“You want to feel wanted and that’s how he made me feel, which made my decision even easier.”