Royce hits the road
Panthers legend Royce Simmons is currently in the midst of his second major fundraising walk.
The walk kicked off on Tuesday with 1991 Grand Final teammate Brad Fittler in Dubbo to help get the event underway.
A number of other NRL legends have already walked alongside Simmons this week including Nigel Plum, Garry Jack and Terry Lamb.
Simmons will finish Royce’s Big Walk on Saturday, April 29 when he walks into Carrington Park for Penrith’s clash against the Wests Tigers in Bathurst. For more details and to donate to dementia research, visit www.roycesbigwalk.com.au.
Team List Tuesday moves
With two games being played on Tuesday for ANZAC Day, team lists for Round 9 won’t be released in the usual manner next week. Team List Tuesday will become Team List Wednesday, with team lists to be released at 11am on Wednesday, April 26.
NRL backs hair pull penalty
The over-the-top response to the penalty against Tyson Frizell for pulling Jarome Luai’s hair, accident or otherwise, has been ridiculous. Somehow, Luai has even been blamed for the situation in some corners.
On Monday, NRL Head of Football Graham Annesley backed the decision by Peter Gough to penalise Frizell.
“The referee has been quite heavily criticised for this decision but I just don’t know what else the referee could have done,” he said.
“I get the argument, the hair is long… but we can’t have a rule that says if you have long hair, it’s OK to pull the hair. If the referee doesn’t act on that then there’s complaints about the referee not acting on a player getting his hair pulled.”
Luai was embracing all the chatter, playing it up for the Weekender cameras at training on Tuesday.
Martin set to extend
The Panthers have a clear intent to wrap up as many key players as possible until the end of the 2027 season. Next in line is Liam Martin, who signed a one year extension late last year but now appears to have come to terms on a longer deal. Expect it to be announced in the next few weeks.
Spotted
Want some free WiFi at McDonald Jones Stadium? I couldn’t help but notice the media WiFi password was in clear view on a printed out A4 piece of paper whenever the camera panned to Panthers coach Ivan Cleary in the box last Saturday.
Spotted
Panthers co-captain Nathan Cleary doing a spot of juggling in the sheds ahead of Penrith’s game against Newcastle last Saturday.
Coach goes early
It’s a requirement for NRL coaches to hold a media conference in the lead-up to a game each week, but the timing of that opportunity is up to the club. Interestingly, Ivan Cleary opted to hold his press conference ahead of the Souths game on Monday at 9am.
This year, Cleary has often tried to schedule media events outside of team training times – taking things a little more behind closed doors this season.
Spotted
Jarome Luai and his lushing locks proving popular in Newcastle, with the five-eighth snapping selfies with Penrith fans.
Luai, Edwards debate pointless
The suggestion that Penrith may have to choose between keeping Jarome Luai or Dylan Edwards was news to the Panthers. This is a media story with no real substance; both players are keen to stay and are in Penrith’s long-term plans.
It’s not news to the club that both are off-contract at the end of next year and could command big dollars elsewhere. But with both having a strong desire to stay in Penrith and potentially even accepting less than what they could get on the open market, Penrith remain pretty confident that they can re-sign both.
Touching photo
This is the photo that brought a huge smile to the NRL community last weekend. Courageous Panthers fan Emma, who is battling serious illness, was thrilled to get a photo with the Panthers in Newcastle last Saturday.
Co-captain Nathan Cleary also signed some merchandise for the inspiring youngster.
