New role for Isaah
Isaah Yeo is set to add to his stellar list of achievements by taking on the New South Wales captaincy when the Blues side is named for Origin I in the coming days.
Even if Jake Trbojevic retains his spot in the squad, I’m told he won’t be captain and Yeo will be handed the role. Given he co-captains the Panthers and is the current Kangaroos captain, it makes sense for Yeo to be handed the role for New South Wales.
Penrith’s NRLW push
The NRL doesn’t want to expand the premier women’s competition until 2028 but I’m told the Panthers are pushing strongly for entry into the NRLW a year earlier, in 2027. The competition expands to 12 teams this year with the readmission of the Warriors and the arrival of the Bulldogs.
The NRL has taken a slow and steady approach to NRLW expansion, but the Panthers will put forward a strong case for admission a little earlier than expected. A 2027 debut would also give the new Penrith Stadium additional content, which Venues NSW is desperate to achieve from early in the piece.
Origin players won’t be back up
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has decided not to force his State of Origin representatives to back up from Origin II in Perth for the following weekend’s game against the Warriors.
It would have been a huge ask for the likes of Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo to play in Perth on Wednesday night and then get to Auckland for the clash with the Warriors on the Saturday afternoon.
The coach has opted to roll the dice and won’t get his players to back up. Penrith play the Eels after the other two Origin clashes, with both games in Sydney. Players would be more likely to back up after these clashes.
Dour reaction to draw
How do you celebrate a draw? The answer is you don’t. The Penrith dressing room resembled that of a loss after the 30-all tie to the Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday. There were very few smiles as the reality of letting a 12-point lead slip twice set in.
Spotted
Melbourne Storm 2024 premiers hats on sale at a TK MAXX store in Queensland last week. Only problem is, of course, that the Storm didn’t get the chocolates in the Grand Final. Whoops.
Ball-gate overblown
So is Penrith trainer Shane Elford wetting the ball prior to the Golden Point kick-off against the Cowboys last Saturday night really a big deal? Some in the media and in the Twitterverse seem to think so, but the reality is things like this happen all the time.
As we’ve seen since the story first emerged, even the Cowboys themselves were doing it in the same game.
Grumpy journos calling for lengthy bans for Elford are losing credibility by the minute with such immature suggestions.
It wasn’t that long ago we were constantly washing balls in soapy water during the COVID crisis!
Luke on the outer
I told you back in March that Soni Luke would not be re-signed by Penrith beyond this season. That has apparently been locked in over the past few weeks, with Luke’s management desperately trying to find him a new deal. England looms as a likely destination.
Powerful gathering
Some of the biggest names in rugby league gathered last week to surprise former Panthers player, coach and administrator Phil Gould.
The celebration of his 50th year in rugby league attracted a host of rugby league’s most influential figures, including plenty with a Penrith link.
Panthers recruitment manager Jim Jones was there, as was one-time power broker Lou Zivanovic and former Panthers forward Darryl Brohman.
May on the lookout
Taylan May, who left Penrith in controversial circumstances last year, is looking to resume his NRL career.
He’s now doing the media rounds claiming to be reformed, especially after checking himself in to a private mental health facility recently. I guess time will tell.
A club will pick him up either for the back end of this year, or for 2025.
Masked Panther
The Masked Panther is the most mysterious journalist of all. He has the inside word on everything happening in rugby league.