Last verified: November 10, 2026, at 05:09 UTC.
Zac Laybutt has signed with the PNG Chiefs on a two-year deal beginning in 2028, according to Papua New Guinea’s National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), which reported the club’s announcement on November 10. The Papua New Guinea international will become the Chiefs’ player No. 008 after his North Queensland Cowboys contract ends in 2027.
The move gives the incoming National Rugby League club an experienced outside back with a connection to the Kumuls, Papua New Guinea’s national team. For Cowboys supporters, the immediate distinction is timing: Laybutt’s reported Chiefs deal starts in 2028, not next season.
Yes. NBC PNG reported the signing and published comments from Chiefs chief executive Lorna McPherson, football general manager Michael Chammas and coach Willie Peters. The broadcaster said Laybutt’s two-year agreement starts in 2028 and follows the end of his Cowboys deal.
The report identifies Laybutt as the eighth player in the Chiefs’ numbered signing announcements. That number is useful when following the new club’s roster build, although it should not be confused with his eventual jersey number or a guarantee of a starting place.
Before this announcement, the Chiefs had confirmed seven numbered signings. A club release published by the NRL identified Joseph Manu as No. 007 and listed Jarome Luai, Alex Johnston, Connor Watson, Matty Lees, Zac Lomax and Brian To’o among the earlier signings.
The reported move is scheduled for 2028. North Queensland announced in June 2025 that Laybutt and fellow center Viliami Vailea had agreed to extensions running through the 2027 season. NBC’s new report says Laybutt will join the Chiefs when his Cowboys deal concludes.
That makes this a future signing rather than an immediate transfer. It also means his 2027 Cowboys season remains a separate question from how he will fit into the Chiefs’ first squad. Neither the reporting cited here nor the contract announcement establishes what his selection or playing time will be in either season.
Laybutt is a Cowboys outside back who made his NRL debut in 2023. His Cowboys profile says he grew up in Bundaberg and joined the club’s Young Guns program in 2021. NBC reports that he has played 42 NRL matches and can play at center or on the wing.
He has also represented Papua New Guinea. The Cowboys included him in their 2026 World Cup squad tracker, while NBC reported that he has played eight Tests for the Kumuls. International representation and club membership are different: playing for Papua New Guinea did not, by itself, mean he had signed for the Chiefs. The reported contract is the evidence of that separate club commitment.
McPherson told NBC that having Papua New Guinean players in the Chiefs squad was important to the club’s identity. Laybutt’s experience with both the Cowboys and the Kumuls gives the expansion team a player familiar to supporters of each side.
His ability to play in more than one outside-back position gives Peters another option as the squad takes shape. Where Laybutt ultimately plays will depend on recruitment, form, fitness and the coach’s selections closer to the season. A signing announcement alone cannot settle the starting lineup.
The Chiefs already have several established players who can feature in the backs, including Manu, Johnston, To’o and Lomax. The club separately confirmed Lomax as signing No. 005. Laybutt and Lomax are different players, despite sharing the first name Zac—a useful distinction when checking signing headlines.
The Chiefs are preparing to enter the NRL in 2028, as Australia’s Department of Home Affairs also notes. Further recruitment and development decisions remain ahead; readers looking for changes should check club and NRL announcements for confirmed contracts rather than treating speculation about prospective players as completed deals.
NBC reports a two-year contract beginning in 2028, covering the Chiefs’ first two seasons.
His reported Chiefs deal starts in 2028. The Cowboys previously announced that his North Queensland contract runs through the 2027 season.
No. Laybutt is the Cowboys and Papua New Guinea international reported as Chiefs signing No. 008; Lomax was announced separately as signing No. 005.
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