Over the years, Penrith has had its fair share of fathers who have either played or coached the Panthers and seen their sons follow in their footsteps.
They haven’t always succeeded but this week I thought it would be interesting to look at former Penrith players and coaches and how their sons turned out as rugby league players themselves.
Interestingly, there are five sons from Penrith’s maiden Premiership winning side which have gone on to play rugby league at some level.
Many played lower grades for Penrith, like 1991 Premiership winger Graham Mackay and his son Zac. Zac, a rugged fullback and winger himself, actually played NSW Cup for the Panthers in 2016 before a stint in the QLD Cup.
Another 1991 Premiership winner Steve Carter saw his son Paul play 40 first grade games for the Titans, Rabbitohs and Roosters between 2014-2017 before off-field problems took him out of the game.
Tall and talented 1991 second rower John Cartwright saw his son, Jed, make his first-grade debut for Penrith in 2019. Jed went on to play 30 first grade games for the Rabbitohs between 2020-23 and three more for the Knights earlier this season. He’s now over in the UK with Hull FC.
Finally, the Panthers 1991 Premiership winning captain Greg Alexander watched son Braith turn out for Penrith’s SG Ball and Jersey Flegg teams early in his career before the talented hooker/half found himself at the Roosters. In 2024 Braith is still plying his trade with the Chooks as part of their NSW Cup side.
There are others too from John Farragher’s son Jake playing Holden Cup for the Sharks in 2008 to Preston Campbell’s son Jayden setting stadiums alight currently with the Gold Coast Titans. It seems the production line of sons of Panthers will no doubt continue forever.
The past has already seen coach John Lang and his son Martin lift Penrith’s second Premiership trophy in 2003.
In the present we have perhaps the most successful father/son pairings with coach Ivan Cleary already winning three premierships with his son Nathan, and with hopefully a few more to come.
While the future is currently with former Panther Mark Geyer and his son Mavrik Geyer. Mavrik has already played five first grade games for Penrith and the young Geyer is not finished playing in the top grade just yet.
Not one of the sons listed above is a failure whether they were as good a player as their ‘old man’ or not. The pressure on the next generation coming through is intense and doesn’t always ‘open doors’ as some may think.
Mark Geyer said it best when he spoke with the Sydney Morning Herald just before Mavrik made his first grade debut with Penrith against the Roosters in Round 4 of this year.
“I know how hard it is, seeing ex-teammates and their young blokes coming through,” he said.
“They are always the son of someone, it’s never their name.”
But there’s no doubt for the sons, it’s not a problem to carry their father’s name and they do so with plenty of pride, they wear it like a badge of honour.
One also gets the feeling, no matter how intense the pressure, these boys wouldn’t have it any other way.
Peter Lang
Peter Lang is an experienced sports writer, who has been covering rugby league for several decades. He first wrote Lang on League for the Weekender in the 1990s, and worked for Panthers on its famous Panthers Magazine for several years.